After his dream run to the title in Indian Wells, the 2022 Sunshine Double is only getting better for Taylor Fritz at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

The American was made to work by qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin but used his trademark big serving to good effect on his way to a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 victory and reach the third round of the ATP Masters 1000 event at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday.

The 11th seed will have no interest in stopping there as he seeks to become the first man to win in both Indian Wells and Miami in the same year since Roger Federer in 2017. Playing with confidence after rising to a career-high No. 13 in the ATP Rankings, Fritz combined a solid ground game with his trademark big serving to oust Kukushkin despite dropping the second set in south Florida.

The American was particularly pleased with how his body held up in its first competitive test since his exertions in California. “Physically it was really good,” said Fritz after the match. “I was a little worried about my ankle. I have been definitely kind of holding back in practice the last couple of days, kind of just went once a day, took it easy.

“Honestly, today it felt great and I’m super happy with my tennis, the whole three sets. Even the set I lost I thought I played well. He was honestly too good when he was beating me. It was a really tough match. [I’m] happy to get through it.”

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It was a bright display from Kukushkin, who notched his first tour-level win of 2022 in the first round against Botic van de Zandschulp, but the World No. 159 ultimately lacked the weapons to consistently hurt the powerful American on Saturday.

An early break to love was enough for Fritz to secure the opening set as the No. 1 American stayed solid on serve, but Kukushkin fought admirably and took his chance by converting his first break point of the match at 6-5 in the second set to force a decider.

Despite the setback normal service resumed on the Fritz delivery in the third set, and Kukushkin’s lack of penetration in return games continued to give the American freedom to attack. Two breaks in the decider secured the win for Fritz as he extended his ATP Head2Head series lead over the Kazakh to 3-0.

Fritz’s final serving numbers told the story of the match, the American firing seven aces and winning 85 per cent (41/48) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

He will next face compatriot Tommy Paul, who battled hard for a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3) victory over 23rd seed Karen Khachanov earlier on Saturday.

Paul’s straight-sets first-round victory over Benjamin Bonzi was his first main-draw win in Miami and, just like he did against Alexander Zverev in the second round in Indian Wells, the World No. 37 held his nerve against Khachanov to clinch victory via a deciding set tie-break.

Fritz and Paul’s two previous tour-level meetings both took place in 2021, with Fritz winning an October clash in St. Petersburg and Paul coming out on top in Stockholm in November. Fritz has been impressed with the way his friend’s game has also developed in recent months and expects a tough battle ahead.

“I think the conditions here are good for him,” said Fritz. “He’s probably one of the best movers on tour. These are very slow courts, [it is] very tough to put the ball away here.

“He’s going to be coming to net quite a bit and it’s never easy playing one of your best friends. But in the past, I have done well when playing my friends. It’s going to be a really tough match because he’s playing well.”

Also on Saturday, Miomir Kecmanovic continued to cause upsets at Masters 1000 level as he produced a top-class performance to brush aside World No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime with a 6-4, 6-2 victory and surge into the fourth round in Miami for the first time.

After equalling his career-best run at Indian Wells last week by beating Marin Cilic and Matteo Berrettini on his way to reaching the quarter-finals, Kecmanovic came out firing against Auger-Aliassime. The Serb looked settled following his straight-sets victory over former quarter-finalist Jack Sock in the first round, and he appeared to catch Auger-Aliassime cold as he extended his ATP Head2Head series lead over the Canadian to 2-0.

Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo notched their first win since the Australian Open on Saturday in Miami. The Croatian/Brazilian pairing won six ATP Tour titles from 2013-16 and are now playing their sixth event as a team this season.

They opened their campaign at the Miami Open presented by Itau with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, saving four out of five break points in the contest. The duo dropped serve on a sudden-death point in the very first game, but held strong the rest of the way to advance to the second round.

The other four break points all came in the opening game of set two, when they escaped 0/40 to get on the board before breaking to love in the next game. That was part of a run of 10 straight points that set Dodig and Melo on course for a straightforward second set. 

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They will next face Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini, who upset fourth seeds John Peers and Filip Polasek, 6-2, 6-4, on Saturday.

The tournament’s second and third seeds started their respective campaigns with a pair of straight-sets victories. Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury got past Lloyd Glasspool and Michael Venus, 7-5, 6-4, while Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos were 6-2, 6-2 winners over Raven Klaasen and Ben McLachlan.

The only other seeded duo in action, eighth seeds Nicolas Mahut and Fabrice Martin, were eliminated by Edouard Roger-Vasselion and Austin Krajicek, 6-3, 6-4.

At the conclusion of Saturday’s play, the Round of 16 will be set in Miami.

Andy Murray had high praise for Daniil Medvedev before their clash at the Miami Open presented by Itau. The top seed showed why on Saturday.

Medvedev dispatched Murray 6-4, 6-2 to reach the fourth round at the season’s second ATP Masters 1000 event and take a 2-0 lead in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series. The 13-time tour-level titlist will next play 27th seed Cristian Garin or Spaniard Pedro Martinez.

“I think it was a great match. It’s never easy, first-round matches, even if you practise on the same courts for one or two months, it’s never going to be the same as a competitive tournament match,” Medvedev said in his post-match interview. “So I’m happy that I managed to have zero break points against me. I feel like I have some room for improvement, but it was a great match against an amazing player and I’m happy that I managed to go through.”

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It was a good start to the tournament for Medvedev, who must reach the semi-finals in Miami to retake the top spot in the ATP Rankings from Novak Djokovic on 4 April. The 26-year-old climbed to World No. 1 on 28 February before relinquishing it on Monday following the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. 

Murray recently announced that Ivan Lendl would be rejoining his team, and the former World No. 1 was in the Scot’s box inside Hard Rock Stadium. The crowd was on Murray’s side, frequently cheering his impressive shots, especially on big points.

But Medvedev was too solid from the baseline and on serve for the wild card to overcome. He did not face a break point in his one-hour, 30-minute victory.

“On the days when you serve good, your opponent doesn’t have this freedom to return, it helps you,” Medvedev said. “[In the] second set, the scoreline was easier, it was much tougher in the beginning, but when your opponent knows you’re probably going to get some aces and it’s not going to be easy for him to return, he gets pressure on his serve and many times that is what happens in close matches.”

Murray did not necessarily do anything wrong in the match, but he was unable to step into the court often enough to displace the top seed from his comfort zone. Medvedev appeared full of confidence in neutral rallies and never appeared under stress against the two-time Miami champion.

“Every opportunity I had I tried to take it, to go for it,” Medvedev said. “And there were a lot of moments when I was happy about my game.”

When J.J. Wolf arrived at the Miami Open presented by Itau, he had a good laugh.

“I FaceTimed a bunch of my friends who either played [football] at Ohio State or are playing professionally now and was like, ‘Shouldn’t you guys be here, not me?’” Wolf recalled. “It was kind of funny and they all got good kicks out of it.”

Hard Rock Stadium is the home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. However, Wolf, a Cincinnati Bengals fan, will be the centre of attention at the same venue on Saturday when he plays third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in primetime.

If this match was played last year, the first thing fans would have noticed was Wolf’s mullet, which became arguably the most talked about hairstyle on the ATP Tour. But now, the flowing hair is gone and the focus can go on one thing: his tennis.

“I think having the haircut, I expected the questions,” Wolf said. “But I feel a lot better on court without it now, just kind of focussing on my tennis. I’m happy it’s going how it is.

“I don’t think it bothered my tennis, but maybe distracted from it a little bit. It was definitely a talking point. It was talked about a lot, but it’s just hair.”

^{Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}
Wolf played college tennis at Ohio State University from 2017-19 and was named an All-American in 2019. The following year, after turning professional, he reached the third round of the US Open.

But it has not always been easy for the former Buckeye. Most recently, in early 2021, Wolf underwent two hernia surgeries, which sidelined him for seven months.

“[There was] a little bit of frustration, but I feel kind of lucky that I had to go through it to realise how professional I have to be and how much more I could be doing,” Wolf said.

Upon his return over the American summer, he won a set against each of Brandon Nakashima, John Isner and Frances Tiafoe, but was unable to finish any of those matches off. However, Wolf finished the season strong by claiming his fifth ATP Challenger Tour title in Las Vegas and advancing to two more semi-finals. And in 2022, so far, so good.

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Wolf is currently No. 167 in the ATP Rankings, but has been competing at a higher level than that. The 23-year-old earned three impressive wins in Acapulco, defeating Andreas Seppi and Kevin Anderson in qualifying before upsetting Lorenzo Sonego in the main draw. In both Indian Wells and Miami, Wolf qualified without losing a set and then won his first round in the main draw in straight sets. In the California desert, he faltered in the second round.

“I’ve been having a great time, really trying to take care of my body. I’ve been very lucky to feel pretty healthy recently,” Wolf said. “So I’ll lay my body on the line for all these matches and give it everything I’ve got.”

Wolf just played Tsitsipas in Acapulco, where the Greek triumphed 6-1, 6-0. However, the home favourite said he is not going to worry about that on Saturday.

“I don’t really think about who I’m playing too much,” Wolf said. “I just try to focus on my game. But obviously playing in the second round of a Masters [1000] tournament is super fun, so I’m really excited to see how it goes.”

The last time Casper Ruud competed at the Miami Open presented by Itau, in 2019, he was the No. 98 player in the ATP Rankings. On Friday evening he showed why he is on a whole new level now.

The World No. 8 cruised past Switzerland’s Henri Laaksonen 6-1, 6-2 in 50 minutes to earn his first main draw win in Miami. Seeded sixth, he is into the third round at Hard Rock Stadium.

Ruud did not face a break point and he won a higher rate of his second-serve points (70%) than Laaksonen did his first-serve points (54%). He converted four of his six break points to move through.

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The seven-time ATP Tour titlist will have to maintain his level in the third round against big-serving Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik. The 30th seed clawed past Colombian qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 10 minutes.

Bublik hit 13 double faults, but he was able to overcome that behind 11 aces and six breaks of Galan’s serve. Ruud leads Bublik 3-1 in their ATP Head2Head series, but the Kazakhstani earned his lone victory against the Norwegian one month ago in Davis Cup action.

Gael Monfils, who is off to a strong start to his season, continued his good form with a 7-6(9), 6-1 triumph against German Oscar Otte. This year’s Adelaide International 1 champion will face Argentina Francisco Cerundolo, who led by a set and a break when American Reilly Opelka retired due to a right shoulder injury.

Cerundolo’s younger brother, Juan Manuel Cerundolo, earned a 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3 win against lucky loser Kevin Anderson, the former World No. 5. The 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals competitor began the week without an ATP Masters 1000 match win, and now he has two.

Did You Know?
Ruud has won six of his seven ATP Tour titles on clay courts, but he has also enjoyed success on hard courts. At last year’s Nitto ATP Finals — which is played on an indoor hard court — he made the semi-finals on his debut.

Are Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic ready to make a successful title defence this week at the Miami Open presented by Itau?

The Croatians made a good start on Friday when they defeated Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili and Serbian Laslo Djere 7-6(3), 6-1 to reach the second round. Last year, they did not lose a set en route to the title.

Next round will be a tough showdown against Canadian Denis Shapovalov and Indian Rohan Bopanna, who eliminated El Salvador’s Marcelo Arevalo and Dutchman Jean-Julien Rojer 6-7(5), 6-2, 10-3.

In other action, sixth seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski ousted South African Lloyd Harris and Dutchman Matwe Middelkoop 7-6(6), 7-5. Seventh seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares did not advance, as Argentines Federico Delbonis and Maximo Gonzalez upset them 6-7(4), 6-4, 10-8.

Australian Open finalists Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell also reached the second round with a 6-3, 6-0 triumph against fellow Aussie Alex de Minaur and Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas.