Alexander Zverev needed two tie-breaks to get the better of Quentin Halys and book his place in the Miami Open quarter-finals on Wednesday. 

Zverev, who was beaten in the 2018 showpiece match by John Isner, edged closer to a second shot at glory with a 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-1) victory in one hour and 44 minutes. 

Both players could not be separated in a closely-fought first set, though third seed Zverev missed four break opportunities during a pulsating 11th game. 

However, the German dusted himself down and raced into a 4-1 lead in the tie-break, an advantage Halys could not claw back as Zverev got himself in front in the contest. 

The pattern of the match continued and Zverev spurned two match points in the 10th game, with Halys ensuring the second set would be decided by another tie-break. 

And the same result transpired as, once again, Zverev jumped into an early lead, and he sealed his progression with a fierce volley at the net to follow up his blistering serve. 

"It's a shot that's working well, and I hope will continue to work well," Zverev said of his impressive serving statistics after hitting 16 aces. 

"Today, both of us were serving massively. I didn't have many break chances."

Through to the last eight for the fifth time in Miami @MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen | @AlexZverev pic.twitter.com/a69phqhUEy

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 25, 2026

Zverev's reward is a last-eight tussle with Argentine Francisco Cerundolo, and he will be joined in the next round by home hopeful Frances Tiafoe, who beat Terence Atmane. 

Tiafoe emerged a 6-4 1-6 6-4 victor against Atmane, which tees up a clash with world number two Jannik Sinner for a spot in the semi-finals on Thursday. 

Data Debrief: Sunshine Double delight for Zverev

Among active players, only Novak Djokovic (97) has reached more ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finals than Zverev's 37, and he often rises to the occasion in this part of the world. 

Zverev has reached an eighth men's singles quarter-final at the Sunshine Double, equalling Milos Raonic and Daniil Medvedev for the most of any player born since 1990. 

It was also his 39th singles match win at the Sunshine Double. Since 1985, only Raonic, Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer, Gael Monfils and James Blake have claimed more without winning either the Indian Wells or the Miami Open titles.