Rising French star Arthur Fils delivered a stunning comeback to edge past American Tommy Paul in a quarter-final at the Miami Open, saving four match points to win 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 7-6(6), and secure his place in his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal.
In a contest lasting two hours and 47 minutes, the 21-year-old Frenchman showed composure under pressure, rallying from 2/6 in the final-set tie-break by winning six straight points to produce one of the most dramatic wins of the season. But, Fils managed to prevail without breaking Paul’s serve at any point.
Seeded 28th, Fils maintained an aggressive style throughout, hitting the ball with increasing power as the match wore on. This victory marked a major breakthrough for the young player, who had previously lost all four of his ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final matches, including a recent exit at Indian Wells.
With this win, he became the youngest French semi-finalist at this level since Richard Gasquet reached the semi-finals in Paris in 2007 at the age of 21. Fils will next face the Czech player Jiri Lehecka, whom he leads 2-1 in their head-to-head record. Their most recent encounter was in Doha earlier this year, where the Frenchman won in straight sets.
Lehecka advanced to the last four with a 7-6(1), 7-5 victory over Spain’s Martin Landaluce, ending the impressive run of the 20-year-old qualifier. Landaluce, the lowest-ranked quarter-finalist at the tournament since 1994, also became the first player born in 2006 or later to reach the last eight of a Masters 1000 event.
Despite a spirited effort, Landaluce struggled to convert opportunities, while Lehecka elevated his level in key moments, especially in the final stages of both sets. The Czech created 10 break-point chances compared to just one for his opponent, eventually taking advantage late in the second set to seal victory in two hours and two minutes. This run at Miami marks Lehecka’s second Masters 1000 semi-final; he previously reached the same stage in Madrid in 2024 before retiring due to injury against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
With his performances this week, Lehecka has climbed six spots to World No. 16 in the live rankings, matching his career-high. Meanwhile, Landaluce is set to rise 48 places to No. 103 following a breakthrough campaign that included wins over three Top-50 players.
Sabalenka reaches second straight Miami SF, sets rematch with Rybakina: Aryna Sabalenka registered a resounding 6-4, 6-4 victory over Hailey Baptiste and advanced to her second straight Miami Open semifinal.
Baptiste did well to go toe-to-toe with sabalenka but the World No. 1 maintained her trademark aggression while slowly letting the match tilt in her favor. She won the points she needed, saving three break points in the opening set to repeatedly put Baptiste in unenviable positions.
Despite playing at a high level throughout the opener, the 24-year-old Baptiste finally cracked, with an ill-timed double fault handing Sabalenka the set.
In the second set, down a break, Baptiste showed grit to break back for 4-4, but after Sabalenka held for 5-4, the American again got tight, committing three double faults to give Sabalenka her first match point. Moments later, Sabalenka uncorked a crosscourt forehand winner to close out the match, WTA reports. The win sends Sabalenka to the semifinals in the Miami for the second straight year and sets up a 17th career meeting with Elena Rybakina at the WTA Tour.
Sabalenka leads the head-to-head 9-7 and won their most recent encounter in the Indian Wells final two weeks ago, saving a match point before lifting the trophy and beginning her pursuit of the Sunshine Double.
Earlier, No. 3 seed Rybakina extended her recent dominant record against No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula to reach her third Miami Open semifinal, recovering from a slow start to advance 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in 2 hours and 15 minutes.
World No. 2 Rybakina advances to her second semifinal of 2026, having lifted her second major crown at the Australian Open in January.
Rybakina has a 2-0 record in Miami semifinals to date, having defeated Pegula in 2023 and Victoria Azarenka in 2024; both times, she went on to lose the final, to Petra Kvitova in 2023 and Danielle Collins in 2024.