Stefanos Tsitsipas storms into third round of Miami Open
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – MARCH 27: Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece returns a shot during his men’s singles second round match against Damir Džumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Day 6 of the 2021 Miami Open presented by Itaú at Hard Rock Stadium on March 27, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Mark Brown/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Mark Brown / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece breezed into the third round with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday at the Miami Open.
Tsitsipas, ranked fifth in the world, needed 68 minutes to beat Dzumhur for only the second time in five head-to-head matches against Dzumhur.
“It was a great match, especially against a guy that I probably don’t have a good record playing against in the past,” Tsitsipas said. “I started the match very strong, breaking him twice and taking a big lead in the score, and I think the things worked out by themselves after that.”
Tsitsipas advanced to face 28th-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan, who held on for a 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-5 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia.
“[Kei is] a player that has played very well in the past, and even now he can raise his level really high,” Tsitsipas said. “I’ll try and be ready for the battle. It’s important for me to have matches against strong opponents like him.
“I am very pumped for the match and I’m going to try and put my best performance out there. I’m going to try and take it game by game. … It’s a strong third round, I won’t hide it. It’s important for me to be ready for that match and be physically prepared.”
Others who advanced included 12th-seeeded Milos Raonic of Canada, who stormed to a 6-2, 6-1 win over Jordan Thompson of Australia.
Seventeenth-seeded Aslan Karatsev of Russia also reached the third round with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Mikhail Kukushkin.
A pair of upsets saw 13th-seeded Cristian Garin of Chile and 15th-seeded Alex de Minaur of Australia both exit the tourney. Marin Cilic of Croatia posted a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5) win over Garin and Daniel Elahi Galan of Colombia secured a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over de Minaur.
