Six-time champion Novak Djokovic joins Indian Wells winner Juan Martin del Potro in second-round action on Friday at the Miami Open presented by Itau. Among the other seeds on the schedule are [2] Marin Cilic, [3] Grigor Dimitrov, [19] Hyeon Chung and [26] Kei Nishikori. Here are five must-see matches Friday: Novak Djokovic vs. Benoit Paire Competing with his elbow pain-free for the "first days in a long, long time", Novak Djokovic will open his bid to pull clear of his coach Andre Agassi’s tied record of six Miami titles when he squares off against Frenchman Benoit Paire on Friday. Djokovic is on a 16-match winning streak in Miami, sweeping titles in 2014, 2015 and 2016 before missing last year’s...
Denis Shapovalov vs. Viktor Troicki Seven months after announcing his presence with back-to-back wins over Juan Martin Del Potro and Rafael Nadal en route to the Coupe Rogers semi-finals, Denis Shapovalov will make his Miami Open presented by Itau debut on Thursday. The #NextGenATP Canadian, last year's winner of the ATP Star Of Tomorrow presented by Emirates award, reached his second ATP World Tour semi-final at the Delray Beach Open (l. to eventual champion Tiafoe) in February. Three of his losses this season have come against Top 15 opponents. The 18-year-old, at No. 46 in the ATP Rankings, fell in the second round in Indian Wells (l. to Cuevas) leading in. Troicki, No. 68 in the ATP Rankings, leads the...
Still reeling from his breakthrough ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells, Juan Martin del Potro is keeping his celebrations in check ahead of the Miami Open presented by Itau. The Argentine is riding an 11-match winning streak, having also claimed the trophy in Acapulco. He arrives in Miami seeded fifth, with his lone semi-final appearance coming back in 2009 (l. to Murray). A title run would catapult the 29-year-old into an elite group – currently occupied by just seven men – to have claimed the Sunshine Double (winning Indian Wells and Miami back to back). Speaking ahead of his 10th Miami campaign, Del Potro’s triumph over Roger Federer in Sunday’s Indian Wells final was still sinking in. Motivation...
Jack Sock readily admits his singles results in his first three months of 2018 aren’t quite living up to lofty expectations, considering the blistering run in which he finished last season. But the American No. 1 in the ATP Rankings may have found the spark to rediscover that form at the Miami Open presented by Itau. Despite a third-round exit to Feliciano Lopez in singles in Indian Wells, Sock teamed with good friend John Isner to claim their second title together on Sunday. The American duo downed countrymen Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan for the title and did not drop a set in four matches, becoming just the third duo to do so in the past 30 years. [ALSO LIKE]...
Novak Djokovic's right elbow is pain-free for the first time in years. The Serbian, speaking to reporters on Tuesday, said he's played without pain for the past “two days”. The former World No. 1 has been bothered by discomfort in his right elbow for the past two years. The injury led Djokovic to take off the final four months of the 2017 season, and he underwent surgery on the elbow in February. “The last few days have been the first days in long, long time that I could actually focus on the game rather than have something in my mind always worried whether I'm going to have pain or not, and usually it happened,” Djokovic said on Tuesday during his...
