Frances Tiafoe endured a very tough matchup with Yosuke Watanuki as the latter blasted 55 winners in a losing effort.
Tiafoe is not one to shy away from exciting and crazy matches yet he would not have minded an easier matchup against Watanuki. Very aggressive play by the Japanese player gave Tiafoe a lot of problems as he had to navigate 55 winners from his opponent en route to a 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-4 win.
It was brutal tonight, just one of those nights you try to get over the line. I was a little frustrated as I had never seen him play and he played very well and was hitting incredibly from the baseline.
Watanuki was indeed quite special last night as he served well which allowed him to impose his will in many rallies. He crushed 28 forehand winners and 55 total winners in an effort which gave Tiafoe headache after headache.
He was playing lights out and I was on the back foot a lot. He played a helluva match tonight, so give respect where respect is due. He was so red hot but I was hoping his level might drop in glimpses and I did a good job of taking advantage when it did.
Tiafoe will continue his run in Miami as he tries to gather points for his first appearance in the top 10. He's inching closer with every win but he needs a bit more to get it done. A few more wins and a deep run like the one he had in Indian Wells would do the trick before he embarks on to Europe for some clay tennis and his favourite Estoril Open.
Up next is Lorenzo Sonego who defeated Dan Evans in three sets. They are tied at 1-1 in the head-to-head matchup.
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