Sinner to face Tiafoe, Zverev meets Cerundolo as Miami quarter-finals take shape
Miami’s quarter-final draw is set. Sinner and Zverev anchor the bottom half while the upper half belongs entirely to the unseeded and the unexpected — a 20-year-old Spanish qualifier, a resurgent Czech and two Frenchmen who have made this tournament their own.
Jannik Sinner, Miami 2026 | © PsNewz
The Miami Open has its quarter-final lineup on the men’s side. The bottom half remains anchored by its two top seeds – Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev – while the upper half has been stripped of every seeded player above No. 21, leaving Czech Jiri Lehecka and Spanish qualifier Martín Landaluce to contest one side of the bracket entirely on their own terms.
Sinner extends his record, survives a scare
Sinner ended American Alex Michelsen 7-5, 7-6(4) in a match that was tighter than his recent form suggested it should be. The Italian reached his 20th Masters 1000 quarter-final in fewer than 40 main draw appearances – only Stefan Edberg, Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras and Novak Djokovic have reached that milestone faster since 1990. His consecutive sets won streak at Masters 1000 level reached 28, still climbing.
“I felt like the serve helped me quite a lot today, especially in important moments,” Sinner said after the match. “At the same time I know if I want to go far in this tournament I have to improve from the back of the court.” He will face American seed No. 19 Frances Tiafoe in the quarter-finals.
Michelsen, ranked No. 40, had arrived in the last 16 after wins over Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, British seed No. 23 Cameron Norrie and Italian Mattia Bellucci.
Tiafoe ends Atmane’s French run
Tiafoe reached his first Miami quarter-final since 2019 and first Masters last eight since 2024 by defeating French qualifier Terence Atmane 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 on Tuesday night. It ended one of the tournament’s more striking supporting storylines – Atmane had beaten German Daniel Altmaier, seed No. 26 Arthur Rinderknech and seed No. 7 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada to reach the last 16. The American, who has won 15 matches in 2026, played with the conviction that has made him a two-time US Open semi-finalist.
Paul dismantles Etcheverry
Tommy Paul was the most dominant of Tuesday’s winners. The American seed No. 22 beat Argentinian seed No. 29 Tomás Martín Etcheverry 6-1, 6-3 in a performance his compatriots had been waiting for all fortnight. It was Paul’s seventh Masters 1000 quarter-final and his first since Rome last season. He has won eight of his last ten matches. He meets French seed No. 28 Arthur Fils, who reached the quarter-finals by beating Monégasque seed No. 24 Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4 on Tuesday — a result reported separately.
Zverev holds, Cerundolo advances
On Wednesday, German seed No. 3 Alexander Zverev survived a two-set battle against unseeded Frenchman Quentin Halys, ranked No. 111, winning 7-6(4), 7-6(1) to set up a quarter-final against Argentine seed No. 18 Francisco Cerundolo – who had already booked his place by beating French seed No. 31 Ugo Humbert 6-4, 6-3 earlier in the evening.
Cerundolo had been the story of the week in the bottom half, eliminating seed No. 9 Daniil Medvedev of Russia 6-0, 4-6, 7-5 in the previous round. Halys, for his part, had beaten seed No. 16 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain among others in a run that brought four successive wins from qualifying.
MIAMI open 2026, men’s DRAW, quarter-finalS
Jiri Lehecka (CZE, No. 21) v Martín Landaluce (ESP, Q)
Arthur Fils (FRA, No. 28) v Tommy Paul (USA, No. 22)
Alexander Zverev (GER, No. 3) v Francisco Cerundolo (ARG, No. 18)
Jannik Sinner (ITA, No. 2) v Frances Tiafoe (USA, No. 19)
