Ultra-aggressive Fils beats Zverev again to make Miami quarter-finals

Arthur Fils, the No 17 seed, edged out German Alexander Zverev, the top seed, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals of the Miami Masters at the Hard Rock Stadium on Wednesday.

The win is Fils’ second over Zverev in the past 12 months, with the Frenchman also prevailing in a fiery Hamburg final last July. He now becomes part of an elite group that have made the Indian Wells and Miami quarter-finals in the same year aged 20 or under.

As in his match against Frances Tiafoe in the round-of-16, Fils won from the most unlikely of positions. The 20-year-old fell behind by a set and looked down and out, both mentally and physically. A back injury was hampering him, and his quantity of tennis over the past month seemed to have worn Fils out.

Increased aggression gets Fils home again

But Fils raised his aggression level early in the second set, and out of nowhere, raced to a 3-0 lead. He converted that into a 6-3 set, squaring up the match.

He seemed to have run out of steam in the third set, however, as Zverev broke early on for a 3-1 lead. However, Fils again went to the well and came back swinging, breaking back and winning four games in a row to go ahead 5-3 in the decider. Showing excellent composure, he then held on to serve out the match at the first opportunity.

“During the third set, I thought that it was over, almost,” Fils confessed after the two-hour battle. “You know, 3-1, he’s serving great… I just said to myself, ‘OK, don’t get mad. Just try to play as much as you can. Try to fight, and if you make a break, it’s nice.’

“I was feeling not great in the rallies, I was feeling I’ve got a little problem with the back. Sometimes it’s hurting me a little bit. So I had to find a way to be aggressive, come into the court, play my game, not to let him play. Because when you let him play, he’s one of the best players in the world. So I’m really pleased with the way it turned out.”

Fils, ranked No 18, will face Jakub Mensik next.

The 20-year-old Frenchman benefited from the abandonment of Canadian lucky loser Gabriel Diallo (6-4, 2-3) and won against American Frances Tiafoe, the No 16 seed (7-6 (11), 5-7, 6-2) ahead of his victory.

In the previous rounds of the Miami Open, Zverev, ranked No 2, defeated qualifier Jacob Fearnley (6-2, 6-4) and Australian Jordan Thompson (7-5, 6-4).

Miami Masters 1000, other last 16 results (Hard Rock Stadium, hard, USD 9.193.540, most recent results first):

• Taylor Fritz (3) beat Adam Walton (LL): 6-3, 7-5
• Tomas Machac vs. Jakub Mensik
• Matteo Berrettini (29) beat Alex De Minaur (10): 6-3, 7-6 (7)
• Novak Djokovic (4) beat Lorenzo Musetti (15): 6-2, 6-2
• Francisco Cerundolo (23) beat Casper Ruud (5): 6-4, 6-2
• Sebastian Korda (24) beat Gael Monfils: 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
• Grigor Dimitrov (14) beat Brandon Nakashima (31): 6-4, 7-5