Arthur Fils has bundled top seed Alexander Zverev out of the Miami Open, the Frenchman winning their round of 16 clash 3-6 6-3 6-4.
It was the 17th seed’s second-straight win over the German after his victory at Indian Wells earlier this month.
Zverev crushed an ace to capture the first set but Fils turned the tables in the second, securing an early break and smacking a cross-court winner to level the contest.
Zverev broke for a 3-1 lead in the decider but then began to struggle with his accuracy as his normally trusty backhand failed him at critical moments while his opponent began to feed off the energy of the crowd.
Fils, 20, confidently served out the match to set up a quarter-final showdown with 19-year-old Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic.
“In the third set I thought it was over almost, 3-1, he’s serving great,” Fils said after the match, which had been postponed a day due to rain.
“But I said don’t get mad, just try to play as much as you can, try to fight and if you make a break, it’s nice. And it happened.”
Serbian fourth seed Novak Djokovic, who is seeking a record seventh Miami title, caps the evening session against American 24th seed Sebastian Korda for a spot in the semi-finals.
Bulgarian 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov will face Argentine Francisco Cerundolo in the day’s other quarter-final.
Content Source: www.perthnow.com.au