Luca Van Assche was not far from taking out the 8th player in the world on Saturday evening in the second round of the Masters 1000 in Miami, but lost after a long fight of almost 2h01 of play (7-6 [5]1-6, 6-1).
After a contested first set, the decision came down to a tie-break, during which the Norwegian was able to be more precise in the important points to take the lead. But Ruud experienced a big drop in performance while the young 19-year-old Frenchman played better and better.
Davidovich Fokina in the next round
Double break in his pocket, Van Assche won the second set 6-1. But the 80th player in the world was able to notice the difference with the best at the start of the final round. The Norwegian put his head back upright to take his opponent’s service in the second game before rolling out (6-1). He will face Davidovich Fokina in the next round.
