[GROUP POLL]16[/GROUP POLL]
• DAY 2 PREVIEW: There are 16 first round singles matches in the top half of the Miami Open presented by Itau draw on Thursday’s schedule. Six of the 11 #NextGenATP players in the tournament are in action, leading off with 20-year-old Croat Borna Coric against Spaniard Marcel Granollers in the first men’s match on Stadium. In the next match on, #NextGenATP qualifier Frances Tiafoe plays Konstantin Kravchuk for the second straight week. Tiafoe defeated the Russian 61 64 in the 1R at the Irving, Texas Challenger last week. The 19-year-old Tiafoe was one of five Americans to qualify into the tournament. Kravchuk is looking for his first ATP World Tour match win of the season (0-6). In the evening session, Brazilian wild card Thomaz Bellucci takes on Stephane Robert of France.
On Grandstand, former World No. 5 Tommy Robredo takes on the top player from Georgia, Nikoloz Basilashvili, who is off to a career-best 10-6 start, highlighted by a runner-up in Memphis and SF in Sofia. In the next match on, 20-year-old #NextGenATP star Karen Khachanov plays Diego Schwartzman of Argentina for the first time. Khachanov is the top Russian in the Emirates ATP Rankings at No. 52. Last month he broke the Top 50. In the next men’s match on, Aussie Bernard Tomic looks to break a five-match losing streak against qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan. In the evening match, Alexandr Dolgopolov, who captured his third career ATP World Tour title in Buenos Aires last month (d. No. 5 Nishikori), plays Malek Jaziri of Tunisia. Jaziri is coming off a career-best ATP Masters 1000 4R result in Indian Wells.
• #NEXTGENATP STARS: There are 11 #NextGenATP players in the main draw, including six teenagers. On Wednesday, #NextGenATP players went 3-1 in 1R play. Here’s a look at the talented 21 & under group listed in ranking order:
Main Draw Rank Age Round
Alexander Zverev No. 20 19 vs. Ruud-Lu winner in 2R
Karen Khachanov No. 52 20 vs. Schwartzman in 1R
Borna Coric No. 62 20 vs. Granollers in 1R
Hyeon Chung No. 92 20 vs. Dzumhur in 1R
Jared Donaldson (Q) No. 95 20 d. Edmund in 1R, vs. M. Zverev in 2R
Frances Tiafoe (Q) No. 101 19 vs. Kravchuk in 1R
Ernesto Escobedo (Q) No. 108 20 d. Evans in 1R, vs Verdasco in 2R
Taylor Fritz No. 126 19 d. Pavlasek in 1R, vs. Kohlschreiber in 2R
Casper Ruud (WC) No. 128 18 vs. Lu in 1R
Andrey Rublev (WC) No. 130 19 vs. F. Mayer in 1R
Michael Mmoh (WC) No. 179 19 l. to Mahut in 1R