Tiafoe Passes Travaglia Test Under Miami Lights
Frances Tiafoe was down a set and a break to Stefano Travaglia, but he came roaring back on Wednesday to reach the second round at the Miami Open presented by Itau.
The American had to dig deep to turn around the match against Travaglia, saving five of seven break points faced – including four in the second set that would have had the Italian serving for the match. Tiafoe fired 26 winners en route to a battling 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory.
Tiafoe was the primary aggressor in the opening set, but the Italian escaped after saving three break points across two service games. Travaglia claimed a late break of serve at 6/5, and powered his way to a 2-0 lead in the second set.
The 23-year-old American did well to break straight back to love, and served his way out of trouble as he settled into the contest. Tiafoe saved three break points with three big first serves in the second set to keep them on serve at 4-4, and sent them into a decider with a late break of his own. He was in full flight in the final set and Tiafoe reeled off the last five games in a row to seal his spot in the second round.
[WATCH LIVE 1]Tiafoe, a quarter-finalist here in 2019, will face No. 19 seed Daniel Evans next – in both singles and doubles. Tiafoe is partnering with Nicholas Monroe and Evans with Neal Skupski for their first-round clash in doubles, while Tiafoe and Evans will fight for a spot in the third round in singles on Friday.
Also in action, Americans Ernesto Escobedo and Marcos Giron booked their spots in the second round with straight-sets victories. Escobedo claimed an all-qualifier contest against Paolo Lorenzi of Italy 6-3, 6-2, while Giron edged past Tommy Paul 7-6(5), 6-4.