Miami, March 22 (IANS) Indian Wells semi-finalist Zverev eased past Damm to open his Miami campaign. The German enjoyed a straightforward outing as he eased past wildcard Martin Damm 6-2, 6-4 on Sunday (IST).

The victory strengthened Zverev’s impressive record at the ATP Masters 1000 level this decade, taking his tally to 103 wins. It also extended his dominant run against players ranked outside the Top 100 and underlined his consistency against left-handed opponents in recent seasons.

Zverev, who has now reached 20 match wins in Miami, will next take on experienced campaigner Marin Cilic. The Croatian advanced after edging past Brandon Nakashima in a tightly contested three-set encounter, saving a match point en route to victory.

Meanwhile, Alexander Shevchenko produced a spirited comeback to knock out home favourite Ben Shelton, while third seed Alexander Zverev progressed to the third round comfortably at the Miami Open on Sunday.

Shevchenko rallied from a set down to claim a 6-7(3), 7-6(3), 6-3 victory over Shelton in a late-night second-round clash, handing the American another early exit at one of the biggest tournaments in his home state of Florida.

The win marked the World No. 84’s third career victory over a Top 10 opponent and helped him advance to the third round of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the fourth time.

The Kazakhstani nearly lost the second set but increased his level in the tie-break to force a decider. He then played aggressive tennis in the third set, securing an early decisive break to add pressure on Shelton.

Despite Shelton's strong serving early on, he faltered later as Shevchenko dominated and controlled the rallies. Shevchenko, showing calm under pressure, lost only one point in his last two service games to win stylishly. With this result, Shevchenko advances on the ATP Tour to face Ugo Humbert, who won in straight sets over Gabriel Diallo earlier.

--IANS

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