Miami Open 2023: Van de Zandschulp stuns Ruud, Sinner survives, as both reach Round of 16

Botic Van de Zandschulp is into the Round of 16 of the ATP Miami Open, earning his biggest career win against Casper Ruud with a stunning 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 over the 2022 runner-up.

Van de Zandschulp had a vital comeback from losing the first set to win the second and the third, where Ruud lost seven points in his first nine service games, 9 in his 10th, and got broken to lose the second.

In the decider, Ruud was 2/14 on break points, as Van de Zandschulp levelled from 1-3 down and went *4-3 ahead, and eventually sealed the match to reach his first Round of 16 in Miami.

According to Opta Ace, Van de Zandschulp's victory is the seventh unseeded win from a set down against a top-five rank in Miami - since the introduction of the Masters' format in 1990.

The Dutch said in his interview post-match that the difference to beating Ruud was making good use of the small opportunities he had in the match.

“He’s (Ruud) an incredible player. The small opportunities I had, I took them. That was the difference tonight. I broke him back at 3-2 in set 3. Every service game, I felt like maybe I have a chance. At 5-4, I had one opportunity, and I took it.”

In form Italian, Jannik Sinner overcame a late challenge from Grigor Dimitrov, as he made a comeback from a break down in the second set twice to knock out Dimitrov 6-3, 6-4, and reach the last 16 in Miami.

It is Sinner's 18th ATP match win on hard courts in 2023, and he holds an 81.2% winning record so far on the surface - trailing only three players - Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Daniil Medvedev.

Speaking after the match, Sinner made mentioned being happy with his return games.

“It’s the 1st time I played in the evening. I didn’t even practice, it was something new for me. I can be very happy, especially with my return games. He’s such a talented player and very intelligent. I’ll try my best in the next round.”

The 2021 runner-up will face Andrey Rublev on Tuesday, both on 2-2 in their head-to-head clashes and never faced outdoors on a hard court.