Alex De Minaur came back from one set down to beat Joao Fonseca 5-7 7-5 6-3 on Stadium Court at the Miami Open earning a record-tying 17th match win this season. De Minaur tied Felix Auger Aliassime for most match wins in 2025.
Both players went on serve in the first ten games of the opening set without any break points. Fonseca earned three consecutive break points in the 11th game at 5-5. The 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals champion converted his second break point and closed out the first set 7-5 on his serve.
De Minaur broke serve in the second game to open up a 3-0 lead at the start of the second set. Fonseca broke back in the fifth game and held serve at deuce to draw level to 3-3. De Minaur saved two break points in the ninth game to hold serve for 5-4 before breaking serve in the 12th game to win the second set 7-5.
The Australian player saved four of the five break points he faced in the second set.
De Minaur dropped serve in the first game of the third set, but he fought back by winning six of the final seven games including two breaks of serve to book his spot in the Round of 16, equalling his best result at the Miami Open.
“I think ultimately he is a big-time player, so he’s going to go for many, many shots that might not be high percentage. But now he’s playing with a lot of confidence and making them. Earlier, he pulled off some great backhands, hit some backhands down the line. That forehand is so dangerous. Obviously, I know he’s still young, he’s played a lot of matches in a row. I knew if I could make this match physical, I had higher chances of it going my way”, said De Minaur.
De Minaur and Grigor Dimitrov are the only players to reach the fourth round in Indian Wells and Miami in 2024 and 2025. De Minaur is seventh in the ATP Race to Turin and could move into second place if he wins the Miami title.
De Minaur set up a match against Matteo Berrettini, who beat Belgium’s world number 51 Zizou Bergs 6-4 6-4 in 1 hour and 35 minutes to reach the Round of 16 of a Masters 1000 for he first time since Monte-Carlo 2023 and the first on hard court since Indian Wells 2022.
Berrettini earned an immediate break in the first game of the opening set, but he did not convert a double-break point in the fifth game. Bergs broke back in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3. Bergs saved two break points in the seventh game, but Berrettini converted his third break point chance to take a 5-4 lead and served out the first set 6-4 with a smash. Bergs fended off two break points in the third game of the second set. Berrettini converted his third break point in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. Berrettini won his next service games and served out the win on his first match point.
