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World No. 11 Jannik Sinner was on the verge of losing his Miami opener but he managed to save three points and escape with a 6-4 3-6 7-6 (8) win over rising Finnish star Emil Ruusuvuori. Sinner, seeded at No. 9, didn't play his best tennis but he found a way to beat Ruusuvuori for the third time.
Ruusuvuori defeated Sinner when they met at the Canberra Challenger at the start of the 2020 season but the Italian has since won their last three meetings. “It was a tough match today. I was a little bit lucky, because 7-6 in the third you need some luck, also,” Sinner told the ATP Tour website.
“I think he played very well, especially from the second set on. I tried to deal with the conditions, I tried to fight with what I had today and I am very happy about the win”.
Sinner edged out Ruusuvuori in a thriller
Sinner saved three break points in the fourth game, before claiming the first break of the match in the fifth game.
Sinner then held on to his serve the rest of the set to win the opener. Ruusuvuori bounced back in the second set as he broke Sinner in the sixth game and held on to his serve the rest of the set to force a decider. Ruusuvuori then claimed an early third set break but failed to serve out for the match in the 10th game as Sinner forced a tie-break.
In the tie-break, Sinner saved three match points before realizing his first match point to escape with a tight three-set win. "It gives [me] a lot of confidence for sure, but there are some things [that] I have to work on," Sinner said.
"There are positive things, but also I have some things to improve. I think mentally I was strong today, but tennis-wise there are some things to improve." Sinner plays next against Pablo Carreno Busta.