Djokovic, Federer Headline Blockbuster Lineup; Tuesday Schedule & Preview

  • Posted: Mar 26, 2019

Djokovic, Federer Headline Blockbuster Lineup; Tuesday Schedule & Preview

Isner, Tsitsipas also battle for quarter-final spots

Tuesday features a mouth-watering roster of matches at the Miami Open presented by Itau, with all fourth-round clashes taking place at Hard Rock Stadium.

Top seed Novak Djokovic faces a stern test against No. 22 seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain. Although the Serbian leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 7-2, Bautista Agut won their most recent clash this January at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open and has prevailed in their past two hard-court matches. The 30-year-old has been in fine form this season, taking the title in Doha (d. Berdych) and reaching his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open (l. To Tsitsipas).

Djokovic has been made to work in his first two matches this fortnight. The six-time Miami champion was pushed to a first-set tie-break against Bernard Tomic and dropped a set against Federico Delbonis. But the World No. 1 is at his best in the later stages of tournaments and will be eager to avenge his most recent loss to Bautista Agut.

Fourth seed Roger Federer headlines the night session against No. 13 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia. The Swiss improved his form considerably in his third-round win on Monday, firing 35 winners to defeat Filip Krajinovic. Federer leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Medvedev 2-0, with both wins coming last October at the Rolex Shanghai Masters and Swiss Indoors Basel.

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Medvedev stretched Federer to three sets in Shanghai and has remained solid in his results. The Russian prevailed last month at the Sofia Open (d. Fucsovics) and started the season with a runner-up finish at the Brisbane International (l. Nishikori). But with only one win over a Top 10 player (Wawrinka, 2017 Wimbledon), a high-profile victory would bring the World No. 15 in the ATP Rankings to a new level in his career.

Other marquee matches on Monday include seventh seed and defending champion John Isner of the United States facing off against 19th seed Kyle Edmund of Great Britain, sixth seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa taking on Jordan Thompson of Australia, and eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece battling No. 20 seed Denis Shapovalov of Canada in an all-#NextGenATP clash.

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ORDER OF PLAY – TUESDAY, 26 MARCH 2019

STADIUM start 12:00 noon
[19] Kyle Edmund (GBR) vs [7] John Isner (USA)
Not Before 2:00 pm
WTA match
[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs [22] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)
Not Before 7:30pm
WTA match
Not Before 9:00 pm
[13] Daniil Medvedev (RUS) vs [4] Roger Federer (SUI)

GRANDSTAND start 12:00 noon
[Q] Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) vs [17] Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO)
[11] Borna Coric (CRO) vs [27] Nick Kyrgios (AUS)
Not Before 3:00 pm
[6] Kevin Anderson (RSA) vs Jordan Thompson (AUS)
[18] David Goffin (BEL) vs [28] Frances Tiafoe (USA)
Not Before 7:00 pm
[8] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs [20] Denis Shapovalov (CAN)

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