Stefanos Tsitsipas booked his 4th round spot at the 2023 Miami Open after beating inspired Cristian Garin.
While Tsitsipas got a bit lucky in the second round of the tournament, as his opponent Richard Gasquet withdrew and so the Greek advanced to the third round of the 2023 Miami Open without even playing a single match, he certainly wasn't happy to see Garin as his third-round opponent.
The Chilean struggled with his form last year after finishing the 2021 season in the Top 20, but this year, he's back at his back again. Garin reached the fourth round at Indian Wells and he wanted to do the same also in Miami.
But Tsitsipas needed to get back to winning ways after a slow start of the season and he started well in the first set. The second seed broke his opponent's serve in the eighth game and after a comfortable hold to love, he won the first set 6-3.
But Garin was ready to fight and he showed it in the second set. First, the Chilean had three break points in the second game, but his opponent saved all of them. Later, he led 40-0 again on Tsitsipas' serve, but this time, he used his chance and broke the Greek to win the second set 6-4 and force a decider.
Both players struggled on their services in the third set but fans didn't get to see many break points. However, in the ninth game, Tsitsipas saw an opportunity after Garin made his only double fault of the match at 40-30. The world no. 3 broke his opponent's serve and served out the match in the next game to win it 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
Up next, the Greek will take on the 14th-seeded Karen Khachanov, who had no problems against talented Jiri Lehecka earlier on the day.