1. A New Home: The Hard Rock Stadium is the new venue for the 35th edition of the Miami Open presented by Itau. The tournament was held the past 32 years in Key Biscayne after one year in Delray Beach (1985) and Boca Raton (1986). The Stadium seating capacity is 13,800 and other seating capacities are: Grandstand (5,191), Court 1 (3,024) and Butch Buchholz (1,564). Overall there are 12 match courts and 18 practice courts.

2. The Field: Six-time champion Novak Djokovic, three-time winner Roger Federer and reigning champ John Isner are the players in the draw to hold the Miami Open trophy. Overall 18 of the Top 20 players in the ATP Rankings are competing in Miami.

3. Novak Top Seed: This is the fifth time Novak Djokovic comes into Miami as the World No. 1 and top seed, and the first since 2016 when he won a record-tying sixth title. He won three titles as World No. 1 in 2012, 2015-16. He is 20-1 in Miami at No. 1 and 42-6 overall. He won his first of 32 ATP Masters 1000 titles in 2007 Miami. Last year he came in No. 12, losing to Paire in his opening second-round match.

4. Roger Returns: Federer is making his 18th Miami Open appearance since his debut in 1999. The 37-year-old Swiss superstar is 50-14 in Miami. Federer is 12-2 on the season, highlighted by his 100th tour-level title at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and a runner-up finish at the BNP Paribas Open, an ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells.

5. Defending Champion: Last year Isner rallied past Alexander Zverev to capture his first ATP Masters 1000 title and become the first American to win the Miami crown since Andy Roddick in 2010. Isner comes in with a 10-6 record on the season. The top American is 19-10 lifetime in Miami.

6. Sunshine Double: Seven players have swept the first two ATP Masters 1000 events of the season in Indian Wells and Miami. Djokovic has accomplished the feat four times (2011, 2014-15-16) and Federer has done so three times (2005-06, 2017). The others are Andre Agassi (2001), Marcelo Rios (1998), Pete Sampras (1994), Michael Chang (1992) and Jim Courier (1991).

7. Thiem Title Time: Austrian Dominic Thiem captured his first ATP Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells (d. Federer) on Sunday. It was Thiem’s 12th career ATP Tour title and he jumped from No. 8 to No. 4 in the ATP Rankings, equaling his career-best ranking on 6 November 2017.

8. #NextGenATP Seeds: Three #NextGenATP players are seeded in Miami: No. 8 Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 20 Denis Shapovalov and No. 28 Frances Tiafoe. Shapovalov and Tiafoe reached the fourth round last year, while Tsitsipas lost in the first round.

9. Wild Cards: The five wild cards are: Christopher Eubanks (USA), 2013 finalist David Ferrer (ESP), Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB), Nicola Kuhn (ESP) and 17-year-old Chun Hsin Tseng (TPE).

10. Strong Doubles Draw: The Miami doubles field features seven year-end Top 10 teams and six duos making their debut together. Reigning champions and five-time overall winners Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, the No. 3 seeds, have a 58-15 record and this is their 21st straight appearance. The top seeds are Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, who captured the Miami title in 2017. There are four Top 10 singles players in the draw: No. 3 Alexander Zverev, No. 4 Thiem, No. 9 Isner and No. 10 Tsitsipas.

STATS OF THE DAY

• There have been 19 different players who have won the 19 tour-level tournaments in 2019, the first time that’s occurred to begin a season since the ATP Tour began in 1990.

• Eight players in the current Top 18 of the ATP Rankings have won a title this season and there have been seven first-time winners.

• Three players have won their first tour-level title at an ATP Masters 1000 event since the series began in 1990 – Roberto Carretero at 1996 Hamburg, Chris Woodruff at 1997 Montreal, Albert Portas at 2001 Hamburg.

• There are 11 main draw first-round singles matches and 12 final round qualifying matches on Wednesday’s opening day schedule, led by former World No. 4 and 2010 Miami Open finalist Tomas Berdych, who is ranked No. 89, his lowest since he was No. 93 on 1 March 2004. Berdych takes a 5-0 head-to-head record against Aussie Bernard Tomic.

• In qualifying on Court 1, Canadian #NextGenATP star Felix Auger-Aliassime (18), who reached his maiden ATP Tour final in Rio de Janeiro last month, takes on Italian Paolo Lorenzi. In the next match on, former World No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga tries to qualify into his first ATP Tour event since 2007 Queen’s Club in London. He plays Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay.

Dominic Thiem arrived at the BNP Paribas Open with a 3-4 record to start the season and left with his first ATP Masters 1000 title. Not only did the win launch him from No. 90 to No. 5 in the ATP Race To London, but fans also seem to think the Austrian is on his way to qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals for the fourth straight year.

Fans have been provided with an opportunity to pick the eight players they believe will qualify for this year’s season finale. Based on his inspired run in Indian Wells and victory over Roger Federer in the final, Thiem is currently the seventh hottest pick, with 43.2 per cent believing he’ll appear at the O2 in London.

Pick the eight players you think will qualify for the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals and you could win the ultimate trip for two to London to attend this year’s season finale.

Perhaps surprisingly, the opening-round exit that Stefanos Tsitsipas had in Indian Wells did nothing to impact fan perceptions of whether he will qualify for the season-ending championship. In fact, more fans believe he will make it there. The Greek player jumped over Kei Nishikori as the fifth hottest pick with 57.9 per cent of fans selecting him, up from 51.2 per cent two weeks ago. He seeks to become the first player to compete at the Next Gen ATP Finals and then make the Nitto ATP Finals the next year.

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev continue to hold the top four spots, in the order listed, and remain overwhelming fan favourites’ to appear at The O2 from 10-17 November. Buy Your Tickets Today

The Fans’ Top 8 Picks For London

When Andy Roddick was 17 years old, he was on the same flight as fellow American Andre Agassi. The teenager hadn’t yet earned an ATP Ranking, but he wanted to pick the brain of his hero, so he asked Agassi if he had any regrets.

The former World No. 1 and 60-time tour-level champion told Roddick that he wished he had started his foundation earlier. The next year, 2000, he founded the Andy Roddick Foundation to help support underprivileged children.

“The conversation with Andre planted the seed in my head. In tennis, I don’t know that we get enough credit for the history and the people who have come and the big changes they have made, whether it’s Arthur Ashe or Billie Jean King with equality, Roger or Andre, tennis players are on the Mount Rushmore of philanthropy and I think that trickles down,” Roddick told ATPTour.com. “If you see your heroes doing something, it makes it a lot easier to lean in. So they certainly deserve the lion’s share of the credit for what any of us have done.”

“One of the biggest regrets in my career was not starting the Andre Agassi Foundation For Education sooner. So it’s great to see that Andy not only started his foundation at a young age, but he has continued to have an impact on youth for many years since,” Agassi told ATPTour.com. “Tennis gave me a great platform, and I’m blessed to be able to make a difference in children’s lives. If others in the sport were inspired to jump into philanthropy because of my work, that makes it even more special.”

To this day, the Andy Roddick Foundations helps provide high quality out-of-school learning and enrichment for youth and families where there may not otherwise be such opportunities. The Foundation has raised more than $20 million for children’s charities since its inception.

Last September, despite suffering a disappointing fourth-round loss at the US Open, Roger Federer traveled to Austin, Texas, to star at a conversation-based event raising money for the Andy Roddick Foundation.

“Roger was extremely gracious when he came to Austin. As soon as he landed, I picked him up from the airport and his questions weren’t, ‘What time can I be out of here? What’s going to be the path of least resistance for the next three or four hours?” Roddick recalled. “They were, ‘How can I make the most impact while I’m on the ground here? Who do we need to talk to? What are the important messages we need to get out about the foundation?’ So his questions about how he could be best used for the day were very impressive and appreciated and he was so gracious throughout the afternoon. We were lucky to have him and it was nice seeing my former life and current life live in unity for a day.”

It’s been more than six-and-a-half years since Roddick retired at the 2012 US Open. But he is still working hard — just not on the tennis court. Instead, his efforts are dedicated towards helping kids and their families.

“I think tennis is a bit more of a self-serving endeavour. Each day it’s a little bit more selfish. You have your coaches, your trainers, your team around you. You want to create your schedule so it’s almost like you’re a planet and you have this little orbit going on around you at all times,” Roddick said. “The foundation work is completely the opposite. You’re looking a little bit more outwards than inwards. But it does take a certain drive, it does take planning, it does take goal-setting, so there are some similarities. But the day-to-day I think are very different.”

Roddick’s life has also fundamentally changes since his days competing on the ATP Tour. Roddick’s wife, Brooklyn Decker, has since given birth to two children. So while their first child, Hank, was born 15 years after the Foundation was created, the work it does has resonated even more since.

“When a parent doesn’t have to leave at 2 o’clock and can actually work those last three hours of the day and you multiply that by five days a week and by weeks in a year, it makes a huge difference financially for a family, which changes the dynamic of a kid’s life,” Roddick said. “That certainly wasn’t the motivation when we started and like I said it is an unintended consequence, but it’s also something I really championed when talking to out-of-school time programs and the difference it could make.”

Learn More About The Andy Roddick Foundation

Learn About Brunchin’ In Austin On 4 May

Nick Kyrgios’ biggest regret as a youngster? “I wish I listened to my parents when I was your age,” the Australian confessed to elementary school students at the Miami Open presented by Itau on Tuesday. “That’s my biggest regret.”

Kyrgios participated in a Q&A session with students about overcoming adversity and being a positive force in the community along with Kei Nishikori, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Marin Cilic, Diego Schwartzman, Nicolas Jarry and Petra Kvitova. The World No. 33 also spoke about the sacrifice required to make it as a pro tennis player.

“When I was 14, my parents told me I could no longer play basketball and still to this day it breaks my heart. It was one of the toughest challenges to give that up [to focus on tennis]. I love basketball.”

Fifty fourth and fifth-grade students from Hollywood Park Elementary School, who are highly active participants in UNICEF’s Kid Power initiative that promotes acts of kindness, got to meet the players. They were joined by 12 tennis team members from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the South Florida school rocked by a mass shooting just over one year ago.

World No. 10 Tsitsipas told the students that overcoming financial hardship was one of the biggest obstacles he overcame early in his career.

“Greece was suffering economically during the period that I grew up, so it was not easy to pursue my dream,” he said. “Those circumstances held me back, but I was lucky that I had people in my family who helped to make my dream possible. It was also difficult for me to not see my family very much when I did begin to travel for my tennis. I was lucky that I had my dad to travel with me, but I missed my mother, my siblings and my grandparents.”

Nishikori spoke about overcoming the hardship of leaving Japan for the United States to train at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

“I moved at a young age and I was really homesick in the beginning. It was a different culture, I didn’t know anyone and I couldn’t speak English,” he said. “But I dedicated myself to practice – from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. – and I found a way to enjoy it.”

Cilic told the kids that “we all share a similar story about going through struggles to reach our full potential. I had to move from my family to a bigger city. It made me stronger and more responsible knowing what I wanted to do. There were many tough moments, but my family always supported me. Because of the tough moments, I am a better person and I appreciate the life I now have more. Believe in yourself, work hard and you can achieve your goals.”

Main draw play at the Miami Open presented by Itau, being played for the first year at Hard Rock Stadium, begins Wednesday.

Before main draw action began at the Miami Open presented by Itau, some of the most recognisable ATP Tour players lent their time to Miami Open Unites.

The day of service was dedicated to giving back to the South Florida community. Events were held at the Hard Rock Stadium and locations throughout the greater Miami area.

Five-time doubles champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan visited Baptist Health Children’s Hospital and Cancer Center to spend time with kids at the facility.

“The kids were very nice and upbeat. They’ve been dealt unfortunate hands and the way they’re dealing with it is inspiring,” said Bob, “It’s great to give back and if we can brighten their day a little bit, it’s worth it for us.”

Alexander Zverev, defending champion John Isner and Roberto Bautista Agut visited the Greater Humane Society of Miami. The players groomed the animals in order to increase their chances for adoption. The strategy worked as Zverev ended up adopting one of the puppies!

Kei Nishikori, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Marin Cilic, Nick Kyrgios and Nicolas Jarry led a community tennis clinic and Q&A at the Hard Rock Stadium for UNICEF’s Kid Power program. Members of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s boys’ and girls’ and tennis teams participated in the event, which also included discussions on overcoming adversity and being a positive force in the community.

BNP Paribas Open champion Dominic Thiem, Miomir Kecmanovic and Guido Pella helped repair a home by painting and landscaping. Their efforts supported the work of Rebuilding Together, an organisation that repairs and rebuilds homes for Miami-Dade County’s senior citizens, veterans and disabled individuals.

Lastly, Grigor Dimitrov, David Ferrer and Borna Coric served lunch to residents living at the shelter of the Miami Rescue Mission. The organisation provides food, shelter and programming to needy South Florida residents.

Alexander Zverev went all in during a visit to the Humane Society of Greater Miami on Tuesday.

A scheduled half-hour promotional visit to the dog and cat adoption facility turned into a significantly longer commitment when the Miami Open second seed left with a two-month-old terrier mix, Pop.

“Sascha came into the room, Pop walked over to him and they had a major, major cuddle session. It was love at first site,” said Jossie Aguirre, Humane Society of Greater Miami Director of Marketing and Special Events.

“He’s still in my arm [and is ] very calm,” Zverev said during his visit with fellow 2018 Miami Open finalist John Isner. “He seems quite happy and I’m very happy to take him home.”

So… there’s a new member of the Zverev family thanks to @humanemiami. ?

More coming soon! pic.twitter.com/VuPd5S41UL

— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 19, 2019

After getting the necessary clearances, Zverev plans to bring Pop to his home in Monte-Carlo, where his other dog, Lovik, resides.

Pop was among a litter of 11 brought to the facility. He is the eighth member of the family to be adopted and Ms. Aguirre believes Zverev’s support will help to see the remaining three puppies find a loving home.

“Every time we get a celebrity adopting a pet, it leads to increased traffic to our social accounts and we’ve seen several more people starting to follow our accounts today,” Ms. Aguirre said.

The Humane Society of Greater Miami is a limited admit, adoption guarantee facility dedicated to placing every dog and cat in their care into a loving home, and to promoting responsible pet ownership and spay/neuter programs.

Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have combined for 92 ATP Masters 1000 titles, and the trio has probably hit that many epic hot shots during those prestigious tournaments as well.

Above, we feature five of the all-time best hot shots from the season’s second Masters 1000 tournament, the Miami Open presented by Itau. The countdown includes shots from Roger, Novak and Rafa, and it also has some jaw-dropping performances from Grigor Dimitrov and the human highlight reel Nick Kyrgios.

Which one is your favourite? Let us know in the comments section below.

The Miami Open presented by Itau is the second stop of the March Masters, and makes its debut this year at the Hard Rock Stadium, home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is trying to break his tie with Andre Agassi for the most titles at this ATP Masters 1000 tournament by claiming his seventh. Three-time titlist Roger Federer and defending champion John Isner also feature in the field. Dominic Thiem, who defeated Federer in the BNP Paribas Open final, will look to complete the Sunshine Double with the Indian Wells-Miami sweep.

Nikoloz Basilashvili is a perfectionist, and also an artist. He looks to strike the cleanest ball, put together a combination of shots that is devastating, and play the perfect game. But tennis is about the optimum, following a plan and getting the job done as efficiently as possible. “I am not a big fan of wanting to be perfect,” says Jan de Witt, his highly experienced German coach. “I know I have the reputation of wanting to be super precise, but you can’t be. You have to go for the simple solution and not over-complicate a match. He really likes to do things perfectly, and wants to make it look easy, so he struggles to win.”

So the 27-year-old Georgian, who turned pro in 2008, and once tried to kill every ball over consistency point-in, point-out, faces a daily fight against his natural instinct. “I’m understanding how tennis really works,” says the softly spoken Basilashvili, who never steps onto court to strike a ball without a bandana — or, to improvise, a tennis grip — firmly tied around his head. “It’s not just about hitting tennis balls or fitness, it’s working on the mental side of the game as well. It’s very important in this sport to know how to handle the nerves in important moments. I am still getting that experience.

“Until 22 or 23, I was wild. I was not professional in my approach. I knew I wanted to play well, but I wasn’t capable of playing at this level. I had no game plan to get here. I knew I was missing something. I was around [World No.] 50-100 for a long time, for two to three years. I needed somebody to trust 100 per cent.”

For years, the son of a former Georgian national ballet dancer, Nodar, drifted and never quite left his comfort zone: a product of financial constraints; of not always having the right people — or fully trusting those — around him; and of having to come up with ideas to improve his own game. Stephen Koon, who coached Basilashvili as a 16-year-old in Granite Bay, Sacramento, and once more when he was financially able to employ a travelling coach in 2005-06, recalls his initial impression, “I loved his raw power, how he just crushed the ball. He had an extremely high physical tolerance — he didn’t mind the hard work at all — and straight away I knew this guy didn’t fear anything or anyone when it came to tennis.”

The talent was never questioned. But Basilashvili, who was first handed a tennis racquet as a five-year-old, shortly before another Tbilisi son, Irakli Labadze, finished runner-up to Roger Federer in the 1998 junior Wimbledon final, recalls, “There were moments when my father and I would sleep in our car for a couple of weeks. It’s been an interesting journey. I was training in bad conditions and I couldn’t even find a sponsor, so I got Russian citizenship. There was a time when we slept in a car for a month on the junior tour and we also slept in tents at tournaments. When I was 20, 21, I almost started tennis again really from scratch, as mentally I was down. All these kinds of things really make you realise that the bad times weren’t for nothing. It’s made me stronger and hungry to play tennis at a high level.”

The decisions, taken out of necessity with the full sport of his father, helped the talented junior extend his vision far beyond Georgia, a country of football, weight-lifting fanatics. For Basilashvili, who values loyalty and honesty the most, it was a period of great frustration. “I was only thinking about having enough money to get to tournaments,” adds Basilashvili. “I was thinking about booking tennis courts, getting tennis balls and a practice partner. It was purely survival. It was only when I qualified for Wimbledon in 2015, and won two matches in the main draw, that heralded a big change in my mind. I was playing good tennis, but I couldn’t get beyond the Top 50. I knew I needed a mentor to help me with that. I knew Jan’s tactics and how he coached. I liked him and that’s why I contacted him.”

His meteoric rise over the past 13 months from No. 89 to a career-high No. 18 in the ATP Rankings this month, has centred on Basilashvili’s hard-working alliance with Gilles Simon’s former coach De Witt, who has been opening his charges eyes to what was possible since June 2018. Following a successful one-week trial, Basilashvili showcased his hard-working ethic, but lost eight of his 12 matches under De Witt’s guidance. “What convinced me was how he reacted in training and I realised this guy was really serious to do what it takes to take his game to the next level,” says De Witt.

The results soon came, including two ATP 500-level trophies in 2018 at the Hamburg Open (d. Leonardo Mayer), where he qualified, and the China Open in Beijing (d. Juan Martin del Potro), which represented the third Top 10 victory of his career. “I’d been in finals before, I’d played in Kitzbuhel [in July 2016] and Memphis [in February 2017],” says Basilashvili. “But to win a title is different, especially a [ATP] 500. It gives you a lot of confidence, which is one of the most important things in tennis — knowing when you step on the court you can win this match.

“With a plan, being more professional and trusting my coach completely, I got direction. I needed to win an ATP Tour title as validation of my work — that I was moving in the right direction — and when I did in Hamburg and Beijing, it relaxed me and left me really motivated.”

With a big forehand, solid backhand and the ability to hit through players in all areas of the courts, Basilashvili always had the technique and physically strength to hurt the biggest players. But his perfectionist and critical nature, heightened by not having a coach for so many years; and his wish to make the game look easy, was also a hindrance to his development. “If I could talk to my 21-year-old self, I would not change my game style, but more my mental approach,” says Basilashvili. “I’m not looking for results, but to give 100 per cent on and off the court. I want to maximise what I have, so when I do retire I know I left no stone unturned.”

De Witt, a coach with a reputation of being “super precise”, who has a database with the tactical and technical details of 400 players, is fully focused on the future with Basilashvili, who recently turned 27. “We had a clear picture about where we wanted to go,” admits De Witt. “It surprised me how fast he progressed. I have never had a player that has learned as quickly as him. He has a very special talent about learning when it comes to biomechanics and movement. It’s very unusual and it’s something I didn’t know when I first started working with him. He was learning complex things quickly. He has the discipline to work hard, and if you push him he will do so.”

Koon remembers the “fearlessness, when Nik saw his name next to the seeds in the draw or when he loved to play the big players” and while Basilashvili is now gaining mental consistency in preparation for every match, frailties persist. “The difference in levels are not very big,” says Basilashvili. “But the difference is I have to be ready for every match, not to be off slightly in a match. That’s what we’re working on, to be able to play against lower ranked players with the same intensity as against the top players.”

“I know he will not be satisfied until he makes the Top 10, and I absolutely would not be surprised at all when he does it,” admits Koon, who assisted his former charge again in December 2017 at the Impact Tennis Academy, in a pre-season camp with Hyeon Chung, Yen-Hsun Lu, Yoshihito Nishioka and Yuki Bhambri in Thailand.

“To be World No. 20 was not a goal for him or me,” says De Witt. “The goal of being No. 10 is not a goal, it will come if we do the things we do. Nothing has been short-term. We have a goal to win a Grand Slam title. This does not come in the short term. I am surprised, and I am happy he is learning quickly, but it’s important that we have to do all of the steps. There are no short cuts [and] it’s challenging the whole time. There is not one easy day, there will always be problems. It’s about maximising the potential of this player. The potential, for Nik, if we put everything together, is to go for a Grand Slam title.”

After years of deciding what’s best to make his way up the ATP Rankings, Basilashvili is now efficiently going about his job on the court, with the full support of his family — Neka, his wife of five years, and beloved three-year-old son, Lukas — and De Witt. Memories of his struggle may endure, but the tennis education of Georgia’s lone world-class player continues.