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Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe were stunned in their opening rounds at the 2024 Miami Open on Saturday, March 23. On the same day, Tommy Paul was forced to retire due to injury, with all of this resulting in a rough Day 5 for the American men's tennis contingent in Miami.
With Fritz at No. 13, Paul at No. 14 and Tiafoe at No. 22 in the ATP rankings, the US saw some of their top players exit the event in their home country.
Lets take a closer look at the three players' short run in the second leg of the Sunshine Double.
Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe bow out in R64
Taylor Fritz clashed with qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild in the Round of 64 after receiving a first-round bye. With powerful serves and a calm demeanor, Seyboth Wild ousted Taylor Fritz, 6-3, 6-4 in 71 minutes.
This was the Brazilian's fourth top-20 win, having previously upset Daniil Medvedev at the 2023 French Open. In a post-match on-court interview after his triumph over Fritz at the Miami Open, the 24-year-old reflected on how he utilized his strengthens to the fullest for the win.
“I played a really solid match today, I barely missed,” said Seyboth Wild as per the ATP website. “It was exactly the plan with my coach before the match. I held up pretty well on the backhand and used my forehand to win the match.”
Seyboth Wild will next play Nicolas Jarry for a Round of 16 spot.
Meanwhile, 21st seed Frances Tiafoe also received a first-round bye before taking on Christopher O'Connell in the Round of 64. However, he was knocked out 7-5, 7-6 (5) by the Australian.
With a Round-of-32 exit at Indian Wells and his latest defeat at the Miami Open, Tiafoe ended up with just one win at the Sunshine Double.
Tommy Paul suffers ankle injury
In an unfortunate turn of events, 13th seed Tommy Paul was forced to retire after he rolled his ankle in his Round-of-64 match against Martin Damm. Paul was up 6-4, 1-2 when he came up to the net during a rally. He suddenly pulled up and hobbled before falling to the ground clutching his left leg.
The injury put an end to the home hope's campaign. He had notably entered Miami on the back of a semifinal run at Indian Wells.
Damm, who had defeated Zhang Zhizhen in the previous round, will take on Christopher O'Connell in the Round of 32.
The USA's hopes in men's singles at the Miami Open remain alive with the likes of Christopher Eubanks, Ben Shelton and Sebastian Korda still in the running.
