Andy Murray made it back to back wins at the Miami Open as he defeated world No 30 Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6 (7-0) 6-3 to reach the third round.
After flopping against the Argentine at the Australian Open earlier this year, 36-year-old Murray produced a quite brilliant performance to exact revenge against the 29th seed.
Two-time Miami Open champion Murray saved all seven break points he faced to notch his first Top 50 win since Toronto last August. It is also the first time he has posted consecutive wins at an event since the same tournament.
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Murray produced some sensational tennis in the second set of his clash with Etcheverry
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The Scot shows he’s still got it after saving set point in stunning fashion
Murray resumed his second-round clash with the score tied at 3-3 in the first set as severe downpours in Florida wreaked havoc on the schedule on Friday.
The former world No 1 whitewashed his opponent to win the opening set tie-break before breaking for a 4-2 lead in the next.
At 5-3, Murray saved three break points with some clutch tennis before sealing his biggest win of the year on his first match point.
Murray will face Czech youngster Tomas Machac, who beat Russian world No 6 Andrey Rublev, in the next round slated for Sunday.
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Murray warmed up in the parking lot of the Hard Rock Stadium ahead of his clash
Tale of the Tape
Fellow Briton Jack Draper’s challenge was ended by Nicolas Jarry, however.
Jarry, the world No 23 from Chile, beat the 22-year-old 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-6 (7-2) in a match lasting three hours and 33 minutes.
Draper was left heart-broken after squandering two match points when leading 5-4, 40-15 in the third.
Jannik Sinner was made to wait overnight for the chance to seal an opening win.
The second seed ensured it was worth the wait when he breezed past Andrea Vavassori 6-3 6-4, completing an 80-minute victory against his countryman to reach the third round.
Now 14-3 in Miami, the two-time finalist Sinner will take on Tallon Griekspoor next after the Dutchman recovered after squandering two match points in the second-set tie-break to edge American Alex Michelsen 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (7-9) 6-4.
The top four-ranked American men, led by 12th seed Taylor Fritz, all crashed out.
Joining Fritz were 13th seed Tommy Paul and 21st-seeded Frances Tiafoe to leave No 16 Ben Shelton as the highest-ranked home grown hope.
Defending champion Daniil Medvedev began the defence of his title in style with a 6-4 6-2 victory over Marton Fucsovics.
American fifth seed Jessica Pegula moved into the third round when an ailing Zhu Lin retired trailing 6-4 4-1.
Next up for Pegula is Canadian Leylah Fernandez who converted all six of her break chances in a 6-4 6-2 win over Colombian Emiliana Arango
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