Miami Masters: Sinner rallies to beat Griekspoor in three

Italian Jannik Sinner, the second seed, defeated Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, the No 25 seed, 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 to move into the last 16 of the Miami Masters at the Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday evening.

The victory sees Sinner extend his head-to-head record against Griekspoor to 4-0, and become one of only eight players since 1990 to have a 70 percent or higher win rate at ATP Masters 1000 events (of those who have played 25+ matches). He’s now 18-1 in 2024 overall.

“I’m obviously happy,” declared Sinner after the three-set victory, which was the Italian’s second time coming back after losing the first set this year. “It was a tough day for me. But I’m happy with the result.”

Sinner weathers Griekspoor storm

Overall it was a well put together victory from Sinner, who was required to weather a significant storm from Griekspoor across the opening two sets.

The match featured a 50-minute rain delay in the second set, with the No 2 seed trailing by a set. After play resumed, the Italian showed great resolve to lock in and level the match, before running away in the deciding set.

In the opening set, Griekspoor struck 11 winners and just one unforced error. In contract, the third set saw the Dutchman make only three winners to four unforced errors.

“Griekspoor is an amazing player, I knew what to expect,” said Sinner after the two hour, 23 minute battle. “He has huge weapons: serve, forehand, net game… He started off really well.”

“I think the first set was really close. It got away from me. I tried to stay really strong mentally, which I did. I was in a tough situation today. Then when the rain came, I tried to come back a little bit more aggressive.”

Sinner, ranked No 3, will face the winner of the match between American wildcard Martin Damm and Australian Christopher O’Connell next.

The 22-year-old Italian won against qualifier Andrea Vavassori (6-3, 6-4) in the previous round of the Miami Open.

In the second round of the Miami Open, Griekspoor, ranked No 26, edged out American Alex Michelsen (7-6 (5), 6-7 (7), 6-4).

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

• Cameron Norrie vs. Daniil Medvedev
• Alexei Popyrin vs. Fabian Marozsan
• Alex De Minaur vs. Jan-Lennard Struff
• Francisco Cerundolo vs. Karen Khachanov
• Alexander Zverev vs. Christopher Eubanks
• Sebastian Korda vs. Hubert Hurkacz
• Grigor Dimitrov vs. Yannick Hanfmann
• Lorenzo Musetti vs. Ben Shelton
• Carlos Alcaraz vs. Gael Monfils
• Casper Ruud vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
• Martin Damm vs. Christopher O’Connell
• Ugo Humbert vs. Dominik Koepfer
• Nicolas Jarry vs. Thiago Seyboth Wild
• Matteo Arnaldi beat Denis Shapovalov: 6-3, 7-6 (7)
• Tomas Machac vs. Andy Murray: sunday