Andy Murray, accustomed to going deep into the Miami Open, was derailed in the third round, falling 6-7 6-4 6-3 to Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.
The Scotsman might have sensed trouble was in the air at Crandon Park after the opening two matches on Stadium court ended in shock results with women’s world number one Serena Williams and number two Agnieszka Radwanska both upset victims.
“To be honest, I just played better in the big moments today,” Dimitrov told reporters.
“I had quite a few opportunities and I used them.
“Even though I lost the first set, I kept good composure. I had to stay in the match and I had to be really focused. I’m happy with all those things.”
After winning a tight opening set by breezing through a 7-1 tie-break, Murray quickly found himself down a break 2-0 in the second and that was all the 26th-seeded Dimitrov needed to level the match.
Murray, a two-times Miami champion who had reached the final three times in the last four years, grabbed the initiative in the third set, breaking his Bulgarian opponent to nose ahead 3-1 but a determined Dimitrov broke right back to get the decisive set back on level terms.
Service breaks continued with Dimitrov going on top again 4-3 and the Bulgarian consolidated his advantage by holding serve for a 5-3 lead.
With Murray serving to stay in the match Dimitrov broke yet again, closing out the rollercoaster contest on his first match point in two hours 25 minutes.
“(I made) a lot of unforced errors in the third set,” Murray said.
“After winning a close first set you want to try and put your opponent under pressure. Credit to him. He was more solid than me.”
Next up for Dimitrov will be Frenchman Gael Monfils, who hit 13 aces in a 6-3 6-4 win over Pablo Cuevas.
Meanwhile, Williams’s bid for a ninth Miami Open title came to a shock end when she was beaten 6-7 6-1 6-2 in the fourth round by 15th-seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.
“I’m really thrilled,” said Kuznetsova after registering her first win over Williams since 2009.
“I’m sorry fans, who are disappointed that Serena’s not going to keep playing, but for sure she’ll be at more events than here.”
Swiss surprise
It was a day of dramatic upsets in the women’s Open, as Williams stepped onto the Stadium court for her Round of 16 match immediately after third-seeded world number two Radwanska of Poland was tripped up by 19th-seeded Swiss Timea Bacsinszky 2-6 6-4 6-2.
Radwanska was the winner on the Miami hardcourts in 2012 before Williams embarked on her three title run.
The upsets continued with fourth-seeded Garbine Muguruza falling 7-6 7-6 to 13th-seeded Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, still in top form following her victory this month at Indian Wells.
Second-seeded Angelique Kerber narrowly avoided being another victim as she survived Timea Babos 6-2 3-6 6-4 in the day’s late match.