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Quentin Halys saves three match points and knocks down Alex de Minaur in Miami

By beating Pedro Martinez (6-2, 7-6), Quentin Halys had his first success in the Masters 1000 on Thursday. The Frenchman doubled the lead on Saturday by dominating Alex de Minaur (18th in the world and seeded 15th) a completely crazy game. Led 7-6, 5-2, Halys came out 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (8), after discarding three match points, the first at the end of the second set, the others in the concluding tie-break.

The standoff lasted 3h18. The 79th in the world thus signs the greatest victory of his career, since it is the first time that he has dominated a member of the top 20. It is also the first time that he has reached the third round of a Masters 1000. A day to combine to the more than perfect.

Just as much as his attacking arsenal (57 winners, including 21 aces), Halys owes his success to an impeccable attitude. Despite a badly worded scenario, he never left the game. Already in the second act, where he erased a match point at 6-7, 4-5, 30-40, slamming a winning forehand. But also during an extremely tense third set, where he let slip a 3-1 lead.

Opposed to McDonald’s next round

Led 4 points to 2 in the last decisive game, he then erased two match points (at 5-6, then at 7-8) taking advantage of two big errors from the Australian. De Minaur cracked first by hitting a backhand that was too long. Halys thus offers a superb birthday present to his coach, Nicolas Devilder, who celebrated his 43rd birthday on Saturday.

The French will face in the next round Mackenzie McDonald, scorer of Matteo Berrettini, (seeded 19), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (5).

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