Tommy Paul cruises past Davidovich Fokina in Miami

Tommy Paul faced a rather uninspired Alejandro Davidovich Fokina who never quite found his rhytm in this one losing in straight sets 3-6 5-7.

Paul has been playing well all week long and serving well which is important. The American showcased that today as well hitting 8 aces and committing only one double fault. That serve was particularly useful at times during the match even though he did drop his serve quite a few times in the match.

Paul took the first lead in the match with a break for 4-2 but he then got broke in the very next game to give the Spaniard a chance. He looked comfortable with a 40-0 advantage in the next game. It proved the crucial game in the first set as Fokina lost that game and gave Paul a 5-3 lead which he converted into a 6-3 opening set win.

The second set opened with an early break for Paul 2-0 as the match looked over. It was pretty much with Fokina struggling to find a rhythm but Paul gave him another chance with a horrid game where he lost his serve and make it possible for Fokina to take a 4-3 lead. The Spaniard looked good for a few games but eventually, he lost the plot again by giving away another service game.

Paul saved a break point in the final game and held for a 7-5 win. Too many errors from Fokina (26) compared to Paul (7).