Impressive Shapovalov stuns Tsitsipas for place in Miami Open third round

A clinical Denis Shapovalov swept aside Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-4 to reach the third round of the Miami Open at the Hard Rock Stadium.

In a battle of one-handed backhands, it was the Canadian who came out on top, outplaying his opponent considerably in the first set as Shapovalov’s explosive game proved too much for Tsitsipas.

The second set was a closer contest, with Tsitsipas keeping in touch courtesy of a break in an 18-minute second game. Shapovalov impressively reset, however, and was able to gain the crucial break to take the match.

The Canadian has struggled for form and fitness after a knee injury plagued his 2023 season. This match was a huge step in the right direction, with Shapovalov looking every bit the player who reached a Wimbledon semi-final back in 2021 as Tsitsipas’ own struggles continue.

Shapovalov, ranked No 126, will play the winner of the match between Kazakh Alexander Bublik, the No 17 seed, and Italian Matteo Arnaldi next having previously edged out Italian Luciano Darderi (6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-4) in the first round of the Miami Open.

Miami Masters 1000, other second-round results (Hard Rock Stadium, hard, USD 10.404.205, most recent results first):

• Martin Landaluce vs. Ben Shelton
• Yannick Hanfmann vs. Adrian Mannarino
• Fabian Marozsan vs. Holger Rune
• Jiri Lehecka vs. Alexei Popyrin
• Daniel Altmaier vs. Jan-Lennard Struff
• Alex De Minaur vs. SoonWoo Kwon
• Laslo Djere vs. Karen Khachanov
• Grigor Dimitrov vs. Alejandro Tabilo
• Gael Monfils vs. Jordan Thompson
• Carlos Alcaraz vs. Roberto Carballes Baena
• Francisco Cerundolo vs. Sebastian Ofner
• Daniel Evans vs. Christopher Eubanks
• Lorenzo Musetti vs. Roman Safiullin
• Alexander Shevchenko vs. Hubert Hurkacz
• Alexander Zverev vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime
• Sebastian Korda vs. Roberto Bautista Agut
• Cameron Norrie vs. Flavio Cobolli
• Alexander Bublik vs. Matteo Arnaldi
• Marton Fucsovics vs. Daniil Medvedev
• Casper Ruud vs. Luca Van Assche
• Andrea Vavassori vs. Jannik Sinner: saturday
• Juncheng Shang vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: saturday
• Andy Murray vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry: saturday
• Thiago Seyboth Wild (Q) beat Taylor Fritz (12): 6-3, 6-4
• Dominik Koepfer beat Sebastian Baez (18): 6-3, 6-2
• Christopher O’Connell beat Frances Tiafoe (21): 7-5, 7-6 (5)
• Tallon Griekspoor (25) beat Alex Michelsen: 7-6 (5), 6-7 (7), 6-4
• Nicolas Jarry vs. Jack Draper: saturday
• Martin Damm (WC) beat Tommy Paul (13): 4-6, 2-1 ret.
• Ugo Humbert (14) beat Botic van de Zandschulp: 6-4, 6-3
• Tomas Machac beat Andrey Rublev (5): 6-4, 6-4