Second seed Jannik Sinner pulled off a Miami Open great escape by coming back from the brink with a gritty 5-7 7-5 6-1 win over Tallon Griekspoor to move into the fourth round on Sunday. In contrast defending champion and third seed Daniil Medvedev had mostly drama free passage taking down Briton Cameron Norrie 7-5 6-1.

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The final that fans are hoping to see next weekend between Sinner and top seed Carlos Alcaraz seemed in danger when big-hitting Dutchman Griekspoor took the opening set and was serving for a 6-5 lead in the second.

But second seed Sinner, displaying some of the steel that has made him a Grand Slam champion, came through in the clutch by securing his first break of the match when he needed it most to go up 6-5 and then held serve to level the contest at 1-1.

After flirting with danger, the Italian took command by breaking the 26th-ranked Griekspoor at the first opportunity in the third set and broke a second time to go 5-1 ahead before serving out the match with a forehand winner into an open court.

“I think even the first set was really close, but it went away,” said Sinner, who will next play the winner of the match between Chris O’Connell and Martin Damm. “Mentally I tried to stay strong, which I did, and I was in a tough situation today. “It’s been a tough day for me, but very happy about the result.”

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There was no escape for sixth-seeded Dane Holger Rune who was swept aside 6-1 6-1 by Fabian Marozsan in 59 minutes. The Hungarian, known for his delicate touch and one of best drop shots in the game, struck 23 winners and converted all five of his break opportunities while Rune was 0-3 on his chances.

Ranked 57th, danger man Marozsan is quickly developing a reputation as a giant killer, having last year knocked off then world number two Alcaraz in the third round of the Rome Masters, which was widely rated as the upset of the year.

The 24-year-old also took down eighth seed Casper Ruud at the Shanghai Masters, reaching at least the last 16 in all three Masters 1000 events he has played. Blocking Marozsan’s path to the fourth round is Australian Alexei Popyrin, who advanced with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Czech Jiri Lehecka.

“It is a great feeling to play at the highest level,” Marozsan told reporters. “I try to play my best tennis and today against a top 10 player and I am enjoying my time here.”

After Americans Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe all exited in the second round, Ben Shelton is the top seeded U.S. player left in the draw, the 16th seed making the third round with a 6-3 6-4 win over Spanish wildcard Martin Landaluce.

GAUFF, SWIATEK ALSO ADVANCE AHEAD

It took Coco Gauff a while to wake up on Sunday, but when she did it was lights out for Oceane Dodin as the American third seed stormed back from 4-2 down to earn a 6-4 6-0 win and a place in the Miami Open fourth round.

World number one Iga Swiatek was working the night shift at Hard Rock stadium but also had trouble getting in gear before taming Czech 26th seed Linda Noskova 6-7(7) 6-4 6-4 to keep her bid for a second “Sunshine Double” – back-to-back wins at Indian Wells and Miami Open – on track.

While Swiatek was not at her best, the effort was enough to improve her season record to 22-2 and set up a meeting with 14th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the round of 16.

“Sometimes we have matches like that and we need to figure out how to close them anyway,” Swiatek told reporters. “For sure it wasn’t easy. “There were just many ups and downs. I’m happy that after the first set I had a better idea on what to do, and I just tried to do that in important moments.”

Gauff sleepwalked through much of her opening set in the first match on Hard Rock Stadium court, but when the alarm went off the U.S. Open champion swept 10 straight games to stun the French lucky loser.

With Gauff pouring on the pressure, Dodin began to crumble, piling up nine double faults and 26 unforced errors compared to just seven by her 20-year-old opponent.

“She’s a big hitter. She likes the game on her terms,” Gauff told reporters. “I was trying my best to get deep in the court and just weather the storm. “Overall I feel good so far. “I’m trying to improve with each match. Definitely playing a little bit better than I was last week in Indian Wells.”

With the win, Gauff matched her best Miami result and will await the winner between Caroline Garcia and Naomi Osaka for a place in the quarter-finals.

After a disappointing day for the American men on Saturday when three of the top four seeds exited, the U.S. women picked up the flag with fifth seed Jessica Pegula and 20th seed Emma Navarro also advancing. Pegula, who has reached the Miami Open semi-finals for the last two years, took another step towards another appearance in the last four with a 7-5 6-4 win over Canadian Leylah Fernandez.

Navarro, coming off a quarter-final run last week at Indian Wells where she beat world number two Aryna Sabalenka and 17th ranked Elina Svitolina, continued her superb form in Miami with a 6-2 3-6 6-0 third round win over Italian 12th seed Jasmine Paolini.

In other action, 23rd seeded Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia came out on top 7-6(4) 7-5 in a third round slugfest with Japan’s Osaka that featured a total of 28 aces. Helped by 16 aces, Garcia has now won two matches at a tournament for the first time since the China Open last October and will next meet another big-hitter third seed Coco Gauff for a place in the quarter-finals.

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