Jiri Lehecka booked his spot in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open after delivering a stunning third set to battle past sixth seed Taylor Fritz on Tuesday. 

Having been pegged back by his American opponent, Lehecka regained his composure in the decider and came out on top with a 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 triumph in Florida. 

Both players traded blows in a pulsating opening set, but the early break went in favour of Lehecka in the middle of a three-game winning streak for the world number 22. 

Lehecka took the early advantage, but Fritz responded by taking the second set to a tie-break, and he got the better of his opponent to take the encounter the distance. 

However, Lehecka bounced back from his disappointment to take the third set in style, sealing his progression with a break of serve at the second time of asking. 

"I think that for me the goal was to stay aggressive," said Lehecka. "I thought in the second set, I kind of stepped back a little bit.

"In the end, I just felt that in the third set, if I wanted to beat a guy like Taylor, I just needed to go for it and be aggressive.

"I needed to show the courage that I wanted to win the point. That’s what I tried to do, and it worked well."

Ice in his veins @jirilehecka resets to knock out No. 6 seed Fritz and reach his third Masters 1000 quarter-final! @MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/ATFgxhHI9J

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 24, 2026

Lehecka's reward is a clash with Martin Landaluce, who survived match point on his way to a three-set victory over home hopeful Sebastian Korda earlier in the day. 

Landaluce emerged a 2-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 victor in two hours and 27 minutes, while also exacting revenge for compatriot Carlos Alcaraz, who was knocked out by Korda. 

Data Debrief: Lehecka revelling in the Sunshine

Lehecka became just the third Czech to reach the quarter-finals at both 'Sunshine Double' events (Indian Wells and Miami) after former Top-10 stars Petr Korda and Tomas Berdych. 

Meanwhile, Landaluce (#151) is the lowest-ranked player to reach the men's singles quarter-final at the Miami Open since Jim Grabb (#185) in 1994.