After 2:13 a.m. postponement, Tiafoe edges Berdych on busy Miami day

In a Monday night match that spilled into Tuesday afternoon, Tomas Berdych and Frances Tiafoe clashed in the Grandstand at the Miami Open.

While this was just a third-round meeting between the two players, it felt like there was a lot more at stake.

Berdych, who was the Wimbledon runner-up in 2010, is currently the world No. 13, but he is 32 years old and doing his best to fight off Father Time. The Czech player has been right in the thick of things for the entirety of his career, but has never had a signature moment. Berdych has won a Masters 1000 event before—in Paris back in 2005—but he has never won a major. And while he obviously can't win one in Miami, Berdych only has so many chances to show that he is still a real part of the championship picture.

Tiafoe, meanwhile, is just starting to figure things out on the court. The 20-year-old won his first career ATP title in February, beating Peter Gojowczyk 6-1, 6-4 to win Delray Beach. The American has worked extremely hard to take his game to the next level over the past year, doing everything he can to improve his serve and his ability to win big points. Earning a win over Berdych and making it to the fourth round of a Masters 1000 event would be a good way to show that all the work is paying off.

With the way both men played in this match, it was a shame that only one of them could advance. And on Tuesday afternoon, it was ultimately Tiafoe that came away with the 6-7 (2), 6-2, 7-6 (1) win.

Match point between Tiafoe and Berdych in Miami:

It's well-documented that things got a bit heated between Fernando Verdasco and Thanasi Kokkinakis on Monday, but there was some drama between Tiafoe and Berdych as well. At one point in the match, the Czech player spoke out against Tiafoe's box. The members of the American's camp said something back, and it resulted in some clear negative energy between the two players.

Tiafoe was ultimately the one that dealt with it better. The 20-year-old could have gotten down after a rough opening-set tiebreaker, but he came back with even more energy in the second.

After Berdych was seemingly clicking on all cylinders in the first set, he had a lot of trouble getting anything by Tiafoe in the second. The American was tracking down what felt like every single shot that Berdych hit, and he was firing his forehand right by the Czech when he got to them.

And despite double faulting six times in the match, Tiafoe took advantage of his newly improved serve. Tiafoe won 70 percent of his first-serve points, as he often had Berdych off balance after firing them all over the box.

Having said all of that, it's not as if Tiafoe ran away with this match. Berdych was still able to force a third-set tiebreaker when the two men got back on the court on Tuesday, but his racquet began to bleed errors in the tiebreaker. Tiafoe didn't need to do much outside of getting the ball in play, but he deserves credit for doing just that.

Tiafoe now faces Kevin Anderson for a spot in the Miami Open quarterfinal, which is a matchup that has to be a bit concerning. After going so late into the night and having already played this afternoon, fatigue could easily be a factor after such a quick turnaround.

Anderson also happens to be playing some of the best tennis of his life, as the 2017 US Open runner-up won New York Open last month and was the runner-up in Acapulco just two weeks later. On his way to winning that title in New York, Anderson faced Tiafoe for the first time in his career, scoring a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory in the quarterfinals.

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