With Tommy Paul versus Adrian Mannarino at the 2026 Miami Open, tennis fans knew what they were going to get. Neither player is overwhelmingly powerful, which means that each was going to have to consistently make shots throughout the match. The matchup was old-school tennis at its best.
After a relatively easy first set that Paul took 6-2, Mannarino unexpectedly rose from the proverbial mat and got a couple of breaks from the American to take the second set by a mirror of the score of the opening set.
Neither player was performing poorly throughout the match; the narrative has simply suddenly changed. At one point, the American was firmly in charge, and the next, the Frenchman was.
Tommy Paul survives Adrian Mannarino in the second round of the 2026 Miami Open
At the beginning of the third set, Mannarino appeared to carry the momentum of the second set over, and he jumped out to a 3-1 lead. He appeared set to move into the second round of the Miami Open, especially as Paul had taken a medical timeout between the last two sets with an apparent ankle injury.
Paul was moving decently, but not at his usual elite level, and an athletically diminished Tommy Paul is an extremely weakened tennis player. Adrian Mannarino doesn't have Paul's athleticism, but he has a high tennis IQ that allows him to stay in matches he shouldn't. He doesn't beat himself; his opponent has to do that.
The American was able to battle back, however, and got to a 4-3 lead in the third set, mostly by blasting his forehand into the corners and forcing the Frenchman to hit backhands to simply stay alive in points. It was a wise strategy, but one that Mannarino might be able to adjust to.
Each player was landing more than 60 percent of their first serves, though the efficiency of their games wasn't precise. Paul had twice as many unforced errors than winners deep into the third set. Mannarino had nearly twice as many errors, too.
Throughout the third set, the rallies had gotten longer and more tense. Paul and Mannarino both metronomes of conservative play over a two-hour match, but neither allowed the other to take control of a game or the set.
Leading 5-4, and with Mannarino serving, Paul forced the game to deuce and then got match point. Mannarino was able to get back to deuce with a nice cross-court forehand that almost ticked wide. Paul forced another match point on a brilliant cross-court backhand that trickled over the net. Yet, Mannarino forced the game back to deuce on a returnable serve that Paul didn't play well.
After a wicked down-the-line backhand that earned Tommy Paul yet another match point, Adrian Mannarino faulted on his first serve, and Paul was able to play the second to put Mannarino in an uncomfortable spot. He hit the ball into the net, and Paul took the match 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
He will next play the winner of the Flavio Cobolli versus Raphaël Collignon match in the third round of the Miami Open.