Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas was forced to dig deep to book his place in the third round of the Miami Open after withstanding a valiant effort from world No.167 J.J. Wolf.
The third seed required just over two hours to get past the American underdog 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1, in what was an at times rollercoaster encounter. Tsitsipas looked to be on his way after breaking whilst leading 5-4 to take the opener with relative ease. However, Wolf battled back in the second set by displaying tennis at a level much higher than his ranking. One particular point occurred at 5-5 when the American hit a sublime forehand that electrified the crowd. He managed to carry the momentum into the tiebreaker which he won to draw the match level. Despite the blip, Tsitsipas hit back in the decider by winning six out of the last seven games played.
Tsitsipas’ clash with Wolf was the polar opposite to their first meeting earlier this year at the Mexican Open where on that occasion he dropped just one game. The latest win is his 16th of the season.
“Always expect him to play the match of his life. He had nothing to lose,” atptour.com quoted Tsitsipas as saying afterwards. “I very much know how to handle situations like this, speaking from experience. It kind of worked in the third set. I think letting go and relaxing a bit helped me a lot and gave me that win.”
The 23-year-old is playing in Miami for only the fourth time in his career as he aims to improve on his best result from last year where he reached the quarter-finals before losing to eventual champion Hubert Hurkacz. Tsitsipas is yet to win a Masters 1000 title of any kind on hardcourts. His sole Masters triumph occurred on clay last year at the Monte Carlo Open.
Next up for Tsitsipas in Miami will be a showdown with Australia’s Alex de Minaur, who he leads 7-0 in their head-to-head. De Minaur, who is seeded 25th in the draw, began his campaign with a 6-2, 6-3, win over compatriot Jordan Thompson.
“He’s a fighter, he’s going to fight,” Tsitsipas said when asked about the prospect of facing De Minaur. “I’m not expecting any easy points coming from him. I really hope to bring out the same level I brought in the third set [against Wolf] and maintain that throughout the match.”
Tsitsipas will play his third round match on Monday.
