Second seed Marin Cilic sailed into the third round after a 7-5 6-3 victory over Pierre-Hughes Herbert while Michael Mmoh battled past Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(4) 2-6 6-4 to earn the biggest victory of his career.
The Croatian started off strongly as he broke Herbert in the first game to grab an early lead as he started to play with confidence. Cilic, who crashed out to Kohlschreiber in the third round of Indian Wells, held with confidence as he used his powering forehands to stun Herbert during the course of the match.
However a lack of concentration cost the Australian Open finalist as the Frenchman rallied back to level the set at 4-4. Herbert, who is normally a doubles specialist, found his rhythm and was determined to implement some aggression into the match. However Cilic’s movement was exceptional and he once again broke the Frenchman to all but seal the first set in 52 minutes.
The world number three, who would like to enter the clay swing with some confidence, once again showed his big hitting and sensational footwork to break twice during the second set as he sealed victory on his third match point. The Croatian produced a professional performance to start off his Miami Open campaign and will now play either Vasek Pospisil or Andrey Rublev in the third round.
Mmoh Stuns Bautista Agut
American teenager Michael Mmoh won the biggest match of his career after he stunned world number 15 Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(4) 2-6 6-4 in an epic match. The world number 176 took a tight opening tiebreak after four breaks of serve occurred in the set.
However the Spaniard used his consistent play and became more aggressive in the second set as he forced a decider. Despite a back injury, Mmoh used the partisan crowd to his advantage as he broke in the tenth game and sealed the biggest win of his career. It obviously meant a lot for him as he booked his place into the third round of a masters event for the first time. He will now play Hyeon Chung or Matthew Ebden in the last 32.
Mmoh (🎥@TennisTV ) pic.twitter.com/CHnKKBoiSZ
— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) March 23, 2018
There was also another shock at the Miami Open after Joao Sousa stunned 7th seed David Goffin, 6-0 6-1 in a comprehensive scoreline. The Belgian is still recovering from an eye injury as he failed to produce his best tennis, the win for Sousa means it is his second top 10 win in consecutive weeks after beating Alexander Zverev in Indian Wells. He will now play Feliciano Lopez or Jared Donaldson in the next round.
Here are the other results so far from the Men’s Singles:
Filip Krajinovic def Liam Broady 6-3 6-2
Diego Schwartzman def Nicolas Jarry 6-3 6-1
Milos Raonic def Mikael Ymer 6-3 6-3
