Felix Auger Aliassime beat Australian qualifier Adam Walton 7-5 6-4 to reach to reach the second round at the Miami Open.
Auger Aliassime saved three set points on serve at 4-5 in the first set. Walton missed his opportunity, as he sprayed his forehand winner wide into the tramlines. Auger Aliassime saved three set points and broke serve in the 11th game before serving out to love to win the first set 7-5.
Auger Aliassime broke serve in the ninth game to take a 5-4 lead and served out the second set 6-4 at love after 2 hours.
“I wasn’t doing anything too bad in the set. I thought he was just playing really well, serving his targets, playing high percentage. He was making me working hard. It was tricky, he was not missing much, but I am happy with the way I handled, to come out of a match like this in straight sets to start things off is positive for me”, said Auger Aliassime.
Auger Aliassime set up a second-round match against Alexander Zverev, who leads 5-2 in his seven head-to-head matches against his Canadian opponent. Auger Aliassime is looking to improve his seasonal record of 8 wins to 7 defeats as he is aiming to win consecutive matches for the first time since reaching the semifinals in Montpellier last February.
Sebastian Ofner beat Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-4. Ofner won 30 of his 37 first serve points and fired 31 winners.
Dan Evans came back from one set down to beat Lorenzo Sonego 1-6 6-3 6-4. Evans prevailed over Sonego for the first time in four attempts.
Evans had lost to Sonego in Miami last year and in a four-set match at this year’s edition of the Australian Open.
Sonego reeled off five consecutive games to win 6-1 with two breaks. Evans earned an early break in the second game to open up a 3-0 lead. The British player did not face a break point and served out the second set 6-3 on his second opportunity forcing the match to the decider.
Evans broke serve at 15 in the first game of the third set to open up a 2-0 lead. He earned his first match point with a backhand down the line and converted it with a powerful first serve which Sonego could only return into the net.
Evans hit 14 winners compared to 41 for Sonego.
Ofner set up second round match against Francisco Cerundolo.
“It’s never easy to play against a guy like him. He was top player for years. For me it was a good match since I have been struggling a bit and I just tried not to give him too rhythm. I am really happy with my performance”, said Ofner.
Nishikori was playing his first tournament since Atlanta since Atlanta last July.
“I thought I was practicing well, playing much better. I was feeling the ball pretty good in the practice but during the match it’s completely different. It’s windy. He was hitting the ball very hard, very hard. The courts are quick. I was having a tough time making a lot of balls in the court and just the little things that I was making, maybe I supposed to hit the corner but the ball goas to the ball sometimes”, said Nishikori.
