Stefanos Tsitsipas edged past Christian Garin 6-4 4-6 6-4 to reach the fourth round at the Miami Open for the fourth consecutive year.
Tsitsipas hit 12 aces and saved three of the four break points he faced.
Tsitsipas was playing for just the third time in the past month after he withdrew from Acapulco due to a shoulder injury and lost in the opening round in Indian Wells. He received a walkover from Richard Gasquet in Miami.
Tsitsipas now leads 3-0 in his head-to-head matches against Garin.
“I am just going to enjoy this victory. It has been a difficult road to healing in the past few weeks, but I am happy that things are getting better”, said Tsitsipas.
The first set wen on serve until the eighth game, when Tsitsipas earned the first break to take a 5-3 lead. Tsipsipas held serve at love to seal the first set without facing a single break point.
Tsitsipas went down 0-40 and won five consecutive points to hold serve for 1-1. Garin broke serve at love to force the match to the decider, while Tsitsipas was serving at 4-5.
Tsitsipas wasted two break points in the first game of the third set, but he he earned the decisive break at 4-4 when Garin double faulted at 40-30. Tsitsipas served out the match in the 10th game to set up a round of 16 match against Karen Khachanov, who beat Jiri Lehecka 6-2 6-4.
Khachanov broke twice in the third and seventh games to win the opening set 6-2. The Russian player saved a break point in the fourth game before breaking serve at deuce in the fifth game. Lehecka fended off two break points in teh seventh game to hold serve after seven deuces. Khachanov held his final two service games to close out the second set 6-4.
Tsitsipas beat Khachanov in the semifinal of the Australian Open last January.Quentin Halys fired 15 aces to beat Mackenzie McDonald 7-6 (7-2) 6-3.