Francisco Cerundolo is making himself at home again at the Miami Open.
The 25th-seeded Argentine, who reached the Miami semifinals last year, advanced to the fourth round with a 6-2, 7-5 upset of fifth-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime on Monday.
Cerundolo, 24, has never been past the first round in a Grand Slam event, and he has never been past the first round of an ATP Masters 1000 tournament aside from the 2022 Miami Open.
“I’m very happy to be back again in the round of 16 here, in a Masters 1000, here in Miami,” Cerundolo said. “I’m super happy that I’m playing as well as last year, super happy with my level, and (hope) to keep going.”
Cerundolo logged more winners (12-7) and fewer unforced errors (19-16) than Auger-Aliassime, who reached the 2021 U.S. Open semifinals and was a Miami Open semifinalist in 2019.
Cerundolo also had a big edge in terms of second-serve success, winning 57 percent to Auger-Aliassime’s 29 percent.
“I served well, only one game that I made two double-faults, and I only faced (two) break points, so I’m super happy.”
Next up for Cerundolo is a fourth-round match against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego, who knocked out 12th-seeded Frances Tiafoe of the United States 6-3, 6-4.
Second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece showed no rust in a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win over Chilean qualifier Cristian Garin.
It was Tsistipas’ first match of the tournament after a bye and a walkover, and it was just his second match in March following a defeat the only time he stepped on the court in Indian Wells, Calif.
“I was waiting for a very long time to get out and play,” Tsitsipas said. “It has almost felt like a vacation this past week, staying in Miami. I glad I got started. It was a difficult match against an opponent who has played good tennis against good opponents in the past.”
France’s Adrian Mannarino came through in a pair of tiebreakers, downing eighth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 7-6 (5), 7-6 (0). Russia’s Karen Khachanov, the 14th seed, cruised past the Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka 6-2, 6-4, and France’s Quentin Halys ousted the United States’ Mackenzie McDonald 7-6 (2), 6-3.
U.S. qualifier Christopher Eubanks kept his run going, beating France’s Gregoire Barrere 6-3, 7-6 (7).
–Field Level Media
