Only Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal stand above him in the ATP Rankings, but for Marin Cilic, being the World No. 3 is not enough. With 17 ATP World Tour titles, including the 2014 US Open, the Croatian makes no secret of what he wants this season. He starts his 10th Miami Open presented by Itau campaign as the No. 2 seed and will face either #NextGenATP American Taylor Fritz or Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert after a first-round bye. In the tournament’s last year at its Key Biscayne site, Cilic would love nothing more than a deep run on the hard courts where big points are on offer after losing his opening match here last year (l. to Chardy). “The conditions...
The popularity of any sport usually hinges on its great rivalries and tennis is certainly no exception. While in its early stages, Alexander Zverev versus Nick Kyrgios is already shaping as one of the standout rivalries of the future for the ATP World Tour. And the standout clash between the pair to date was played out almost 12 months ago at the Miami Open presented by Itau. In one of the best ATP World Tour matches of 2017, the duo squared off in a thrilling quarter-final where, in a high-quality shoot-out, the Australian needed six match points to get the job done in three sets. “Yeah it was a great match,” Zverev said ahead of his 2018 Miami campaign. “I...
Grigor Dimitrov started the season much like he finished 2017, when he won the Nitto ATP Finals in London, his biggest title to date. He reached the semi-finals in Brisbane, the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and the final in Rotterdam. But a lingering virus during the past few weeks has derailed Dimitrov's season, forcing him to take time off and reduce his workload. He fell in his opener at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Dimitrov comes to Miami with tempered expectations but he's looking forward to restarting his season at the year's second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament. “I'm definitely going to lower my expectations a little bit coming into this week. I just haven't played...
With the Top 32 seeds receiving a bye, the focus is on a host of first-round clashes at the Miami Open presented by Itau. Taylor Fritz vs. Pierre-Hugues Herbert A string of recent deep runs on U.S. hard courts has #NextGenATP American Taylor Fritz primed for his third appearance at the Miami Open presented by Itau. The 20-year-old, back up to No. 71 in the ATP Rankings, fell in a nail-biting three-setter last week to Borna Coric in the fourth round in Indian Wells, having saved match point against good friend Reilly Opelka before registering wins over #NextGenATP Russian Andrey Rublev and Fernando Verdasco. He reached the quarter-finals in Delray Beach (l. to Shapovalov) and has compiled a 14-3 record on the...
Juan Martin del Potro defeated World No. 1 Roger Federer at Indian Wells on Sunday, saving three match points to claim his maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title. And now, as the ATP World Tour travels to Florida for the Miami Open presented by Itau, the tennis world might be in for a treat: a rematch, just two weeks later. Federer and Del Potro were drawn into opposite halves of the draw at the second Masters 1000 event of the season, and while recent form indicates that we may very well see both players across the net from one another again, one of them has a far more straightforward draw than the other. World No. 1 Federer, who must...