Lucky loser Adam Walton and fellow Aussies Jordan Thompson and Alex de Minaur have advanced to the third round in an increasingly wide-open men’s draw at the Miami Masters.
Miami, FL, United States, 23 March 2025 | Matt Trollope
Queenslander Adam Walton has made the most of his last-minute lucky loser entry into the Miami Open main draw, progressing the third round.
Walton replaced 2021 Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz and moved directly into the second round because Hurkacz was seeded and had received a first-round bye.
There he met Italy’s Luciano Darderi, and slammed 15 aces en route to a 6-4 6-4 victory.
The result sees Walton reach the third round of an ATP Masters 1000 tournament for the first time, just two weeks after he won his first Masters-level match to reach the second round at Indian Wells.
Walton was later joined in the last 32 by Jordan Thompson and Alex de Minaur, the latter scoring a late-night win on Saturday in Miami over China’s Bu Yunchaokete.
https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/1903631578200437073
De Minaur, the No.10 seed, progresses to a third-round showdown with Brazilian prodigy Joao Fonseca.
Meanwhile, world No.37 Thompson upset big-serving 28th seed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 7-6(4) 7-6(1).
It was the beginning of a terrific day for the Sydneysider, who then combined with Sebastian Korda to beat Americans Alex Michelsen and Ben Shelton in straight sets in the first round of the doubles competition.
Thompson and Korda, finalists last week at Indian Wells, advanced to the last 16 along with all-Aussie combo Matt Ebden and John Peers.
The Paris 2024 Olympic gold medallists beat Argentines Francisco Cerundolo and Tomas Martin Etcheverry to set up a potential showdown with No.1 seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic, who beat Thompson and Korda in the Indian Wells final.
A day earlier in women’s doubles, Storm Hunter won the first match of her comeback from almost a year on the sidelines with a ruptured Achillies.
Hunter, combining with American Caroline Dolehide, overwhelmed Magda Linette and Dayana Yastremska 6-1 6-1 to advance to the second round.
For Thompson, his singles campaign takes a challenging turn given his next opponent is top seed Alexander Zverev. Yet the Aussie will fancy his chances, having won two of his past three meetings against the world No.2.
For Walton, his draw has opened up after Coleman Wong upstaged 13th seed Ben Shelton in a third-set tiebreak.
Walton will now face Wong – a 20-year-old wildcard from Hong Kong, ranked 182nd – for a place in the fourth round.
Shelton is one of six top-16 seeds to exit the men’s singles draw in Miami.
Four others – Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Jack Draper and Holger Rune – were semifinalists at Indian Wells last week, while eighth seed Andrey Rublev also lost, ousted by Zizou Bergs.
In other Aussie results, 25th seed Alexei Popyrin fell in three tight sets to Roman Safiullin.
