There are no more Frenchmen at the Masters 1000 in Miami: Quentin Halys could not work miracles against Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday evening, Adrian Mannarino being able to feed him more regrets after his loss against Christopher Eubanks, much lower ranked than him.
Faced with the Russian (5th in the world), main competitor of the world N.1 and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Halys (79th) simply fell on stronger than him, beaten without contest 6-4, 6-2.
Medvedev left him no possibility of breaking, with an efficient service (74% of first serves passed). He also dominated his subject in the exchanges, whether in aggressiveness (30 winning shots to 23) or in precision (5 unforced errors against 15).
Without an answer, Halys, who reached this level for the first time in a Masters 1000, a category just below the Grand Slams, did not have the weapons to compete and lost in 1 h 10 min at the end of the night. Florida, because before that the matches had been suspended for about four hours due to rain.
Shortly before him, Adrian Mannarino (62nd) had to lose 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/5) to American Christopher Eubanks (119th).
The 34-year-old Frenchman will be able to rehash his eight missed break points out of the nine he got during this very tight match, including six in the first set.
The sixth was also the good one to unbreak at 5-3. But in the decisive game, it was Eubanks, who was the most consistent, relying on his first ball (8 aces in this set, 12 in total).
The two players then remained very solid on their commitments, so much so that the decision was made during a second deciding game. Eubanks was even more realistic there, bludgeoning Mannarino on his backhand, who fell after one of his ankles turned slightly.
It was finally on a winning comeback that the 26-year-old American won, joining the quarterfinals of a Masters 1000 for the first time, to challenge Medvedev.
