Andy Murray earned back-to-back victories for the primary time this season, closing out his rain-hit match with 7-6, 6-3 win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry in Miami.
It was the Scot’s greatest victory of 2024 as he swept previous the Argentinian world No.30 to achieve the third spherical.
In doing so the 36-year-old gained a measure of revenge for his defeat by the identical participant within the first spherical of the Australian Open in January, a defeat a flat Murray then mentioned “was a really poor efficiency.”
This time round he was sharper and his opponent didn’t have a solution to the improved exhibiting.
The match had been suspended on Friday due to some uncommon Florida storms, but it surely was definitely worth the wait as Murray, who received the Miami title in 2009 and 2013, snapped a nine-match shedding streak towards high 50 gamers and has now performed 995 profession tour-level matches.
“My physique feels that,” mentioned Murray, who turns 37 in Might, “It appears like I’ve performed a thousand. I’ve clearly been on the tour a very long time. My first matches on tour had been simply as I turned 18 years previous … It’s been a protracted profession however a tremendous profession.”
A day after rain and wind delayed the beginning of play and suspended a number of matches, downpours once more pushed the beginning of Saturday’s matches again by practically three hours.
The match resumed at 3-3 earlier than Murray convincingly received a primary set tie-break 7-0. He then solely wanted the one break within the second set to make it to the third spherical.
General, Murray served 10 aces, hit 28 winners in comparison with 17 from his opponent, and saved seven of seven break factors.
Elsewhere, Jannik Sinner superior to the third spherical with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over fellow Italian Andrea Vavassori.
The third-ranked Sinner, the Australian Open champion and final yr’s Miami Open runner-up, additionally needed to wait in a single day the storms forcing the match to be suspended on Friday with Sinner main 3-2.
The 22-year-old Sinner stretched his file to 12-0 towards fellow Italians on tour degree.
“I thinks it’s loads of distinction between right here and wherever else,” Sinner mentioned. “Right here possibly the court docket fits me a bit bit higher as a result of the ball is just not that bouncy. However I really feel simply mentally fairly free to play, and I believe that’s most necessary.”