Match Report
Tiafoe sets Sinner Miami QF showdown with late escape, Zverev wins in two tie-breaks
Tiafoe’s emotional week continues
March 25, 2026
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Frances Tiafoe advances to his fifth ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final.
By Arthur Kapetanakis
After saving two match points to beat defending champion Jakub Mensik on Monday, Frances Tiafoe stared down 0/40 at 4-4 in the final set Tuesday night against Terence Atmane at the Miami Open presented by Itau.
But by once again “being present” in the moment, the American escaped that jam and surged to a 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 victory, advancing to his fifth ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final and his first since Cincinnati in 2024.
“I did a lot of work in being comfortable being uncomfortable, and I put myself in those positions often,” Tiafoe said of his late escape. “It’s like when you’re running a bunch of sprints, you’re not thinking about the 15 more you’ve got to do. You think about the one ahead. And so that’s kind of where I was at.
“Down 0/40, worry about 0/40, down 15/40, worry about 15/40, and so on and so forth. Ultimately, just be where your feet are.”
The victory set up a quarter-final showdown on home soil against Jannik Sinner for Tiafoe, who holds a 1-4 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against the Italian.
While Tiafoe was not thrilled with his tennis against Atmane, and knows he’ll need to play better against the No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, he was happy with his ability to grind out the result. “Emotionally I was a little spent from yesterday, obviously,” he said. “Physically, I’m feeling pretty good, but more on the emotional side… but still winning anyway. No one cares.”
Alexander Zverev closed Tuesday’s play with a 7-6(4), 7-6(1) victory against Quentin Halys. The 2018 Miami finalist has now reached the quarter-finals or better in six of the past seven ATP Masters 1000s; he’s also advanced to the quarters at both Indian Wells and Miami in the same season for the second time (2024).
By beating the No. 111 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, the German extended his winning streak against players outside the Top 100 to 16 matches, dating back to 2024.
For the second time in his three Miami matches, Zverev won without facing a break point: “It’s a shot that’s working well and I hope will continue to work well,” he said of his booming serve after hitting 16 aces, according to Infosys ATP Stats. “Today, both of us were serving massive. I didn’t have many break chances.”
Through to the last eight for the fifth time in Miami 👏@MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen | @AlexZverev pic.twitter.com/a69phqhUEy
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 25, 2026
The German earned six break chances on return — four at 5-5 in the first set and two that doubled as match points at 5-4 in the second. While he could not convert in the face of big serving from Halys, he made amends by jumping out to early leads in both tie-breaks.
Next up for Zverev is Francisco Cerundolo, who advanced to his fourth Miami quarter-final in five tries with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Ugo Humbert.