Jack Draper's hopes of a Sunshine Double crashed and burned as the British number one was knocked out of the Miami Open by Jakub Mensik in a disrupted second-round clash.
Draper was seeking back-to-back Masters titles following his maiden ATP 1000 triumph at the Indian Wells Masters earlier this month, and he skipped the first-round stage as the sixth seed.
The world number seven was left largely powerless to defend against a scintillating serving display from Mensik, though, as the Czech defeated the Indian Wells champion 7-6[2] 7-6[3] in just under two hours.
The second-round clash was overshadowed by severe spectator disruption, though, as a crowd of Brazilian fans had packed into the stands waiting to witness Joao Fonseca's clash with Ugo Humbert following Draper vs. Mensik.
However, it was then announced that the teenager's clash had been moved to a different court, triggering a cacophony of boos from the apoplectic Fonseca faithful and forcing a brief postponement of the match as hundreds of supporters filtered out.
Following that incredible delay midway through the second set, Mensik completed an astounding win in which he served a staggering 22 aces - including one on his first match point - and produced 46 winners.
Draper follows Jacob Fearnley out of Miami Open
The match between Jack Draper and Jakub Mensik was paused after it was announced that the court for Joao Fonseca and Ugo Humbert's match had changed. pic.twitter.com/vCfv2Lxtpy
— Sky Sports Tennis (@SkySportsTennis) March 22, 2025
Draper was one of two Britons to fall in Saturday's second-round matches, as qualifier Jacob Fearnley failed to spring the surprise of all surprises against top seed Alexander Zverev.
In a repeat of their Australian Open third-round match - which Zverev won in straight sets - the German strolled to a 6-2 6-4 win over Fearnley, who was eliminated after just 74 minutes.
At 4-1 down in the first set, Fearnley squandered two chances to earn one break back against Zverev, who was subsequently untroubled in the second set and converted his first match point to advance.
The world number two will now do battle with Australia's Jordan Thompson for a spot in the fourth round, and there is now only one Briton left in the Miami Open singles draw in the shape of Emma Raducanu.
The former US Open champion - who pulled off a remarkable second-round win over eighth seed Emma Navarro on Friday - will meet McCartney Kessler in her third-round match on Sunday, and a fourth-round meeting with either Amanda Anisimova or Mirra Andreeva will await if she emerges victorious.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Coco Gauff earned a slice of history in her 6-2 6-4 victory over Maria Sakkari, becoming the youngest woman to reach 75 WTA 1000 wins since the format's inception in 2009.
Ben Knapton
