Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Frances Tiafoe entered his fifth ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final to set up a clash against World No.2 Jannik Sinner in the Miami Open on March 24.
For the second straight match, Tiafoe, 28, stage a comeback. A couple of days ago, he had saved two match points in his three-set victory over defending champion Jakub Mensik, and on Tuesday he was down serving 0-40, 4-4 in the third set against Atmane before achieving the critical break of serve at 4-5.
“I did a lot of work in being comfortable being uncomfortable, and I put myself in those positions often,” Tiafoe said of his late escape. “It’s like when you’re running a bunch of sprints, you’re not thinking about the 15 more you’ve got to do. You think about the one ahead. And so that’s kind of where I was at.
“Down 0/40, worry about 0/40, down 15/40, worry about 15/40, and so on and so forth. Ultimately, just be where your feet are,” he added. The victory set up a quarter-final showdown on home soil against Jannik Sinner for Tiafoe, who holds a 1-4 ATP Head-to-Head record against the Italian.
Elsewhere, Alexander Zverev disposed of the Frenchman Quentin Halys with a victory after a pair of tiebreakers, 7-6(4), 7-6(1). The 2018 Miami finalist has now reached the quarter-finals or better in six of the past seven ATP Masters 1000s; he’s also advanced to the quarters at both Indian Wells and Miami in the same season for the second time (2024), ATP reports.
