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Djokovic Helps Fan With A Very Special 'Promposal'

  • Posted: Mar 24, 2016

Djokovic Helps Fan With A Very Special 'Promposal'

Serb makes young fan’s day

Trying to think of the best way to impress a girl and ask her to the prom with you? Why not enlist the help of her favourite tennis player, Novak Djokovic?

One young fan did just that at the Miami Open on Wednesday. As the Serb finished practice, the fan hung over the railings with a sign asking the World No. 1 for help with his ‘promposal’.

Djokovic promptly pulled the fan from the crown and played his role in what turned out to be a very memorable ‘promposal’. Did she say yes?

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Bedene battles back to advance in Miami

  • Posted: Mar 24, 2016

Britain’s Aljaz Bedene battled back from a set down to reach the second round of the Miami Open.

Bedene, 26, who failed in his bid to be eligible to represent GB in the Davis Cup, beat Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena 4-6 6-2 6-3.

His reward is a meeting against another Spaniard, 17th seed Roberto Bautista Agut.

Fellow Briton Heather Watson is due in action later against American Sloane Stephens.

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Coric, Nadal/Verdasco In Miami Thursday Play

  • Posted: Mar 24, 2016

Coric, Nadal/Verdasco In Miami Thursday Play

First-round play in Miami wraps up on Thursday

DAY 2 PREVIEW: The remaining 16 singles matches in the bottom half of the Miami Open presented by Itay draw are on Thursday’s schedule, with three Next Generation teenagers leading the way. There are also six 1R doubles matches, including Spaniards Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco on Grandstand.

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In the opening match on Stadium, Andreas Seppi brings a 3-1 career head-to-head record against Donald Young. This is the second straight tournament they are meeting in. At ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells, Seppi rallied to win 46 64 63 in the 1R.

In the second match on, 19-year-old Borna Coric of Croatia looks for his second win in as many meetings against Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan. Coric won the previous meeting in straight sets in Marseille in February 2015. Coric is looking for his 10th win of the season while Istomin is trying to break an 0-7 record in 2016.

In the evening session, Marcos Baghdatis takes a 2-0 head-to-head record against German qualifier Benjamin Becker, who is making his 10th tournament appearance (8-9 record). Baghdatis is off to a 7-4 start and last month he advanced to his 13th career final in Dubai (l. to Wawrinka).

On Grandstand, Swedish teenage wild card Elias Ymer makes his ATP Masters 1000 debut against Argentine left-hander Federico Delbonis, who defeated No. 2 Andy Murray in his last tournament at ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells. On Court 1, South Korean teenager Hyeon Chung meets Denis Kudla for the first time on the ATP World Tour after two previous wins in South Korean Challengers last season.

DAY 2 FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play by Court

STADIUM

Andreas Seppi (ITA) vs Donald Young (USA) Seppi Leads 3-1
11 Eastbourne (Great Britain) Grass R16 Andreas Seppi 7-6(1) 6-3
12 London Olympics (Great Britain) Grass R64 Andreas Seppi 6-4 6-4
14 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R64 Donald Young 6-4 2-6 6-3 4-6 7-5
16 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells Hard R128 Andreas Seppi 4-6 6-4 6-3

Seppi 2016 FastFacts:
QF: Sofia (l Klizan)
YTD W-L: 6-7 (5-7 on hard, 1-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: February 21, 1984
Emirates ATP Ranking: 43
Miami W-L (Best Result-Year): 6-10 (4R – 2013)

• The 32-year-old Italian is making his 11th Miami appearance (6-10 record) and in his last visit two years ago reached 3R (bye, d. Stepanek, l. to No. 4 Ferrer). His best result is 4R in 2013 (l. to No. 3 Murray)
• Made 43rd consecutive appearance in a Grand Slam main draw at Australian Open where he advanced to 3R for 3rd time in career (l. to eventual champion Djokovic)
• Helped Italy to 5-0 sweep of Switzerland in Davis Cup 1R (d. Laaksonen, w/Bolelli d. Chiudinelli/Laaksonen)
• Captured 1st ATP World Tour doubles title in 7th final at Dubai w/Bolelli (d. Lopez/Lopez after saving 2 MPs)
• Also defeated Lopez/Lopez to reach Australian Open doubles 3R w/Cecchinato (l. to Rojer/Tecau)

Young 2016 FastFacts:
QF: Memphis (l Berankis)
YTD W-L: 4-6 (4-6 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: July 23, 1989
Emirates ATP Ranking: 80
Miami W-L (Best Result-Year): 2-6 (2R – 2014-15)

• The 26-year-old American enters with a 2-6 career record in Miami and his best result is 2R in 2014 (d. Berlocq, l. to No. 10 Isner) and last year (d. Lu, l. to No. 4 Murray)
• Won 1st match in 4 of 5 events to start 2016 season: Auckland, Memphis, Delray Beach and Acapulco
• Fell in 4 sets to Giraldo in Australian Open 1R and to Seppi in 3 sets in 1R at Indian Wells
• Won Australian Open doubles 1R match w/Krajicek over Pavic/Venus, who have captured 3 titles in ‘16

Borna Coric (CRO) vs Denis Istomin (UZB) Coric Leads 1-0
15 Marseille (France) Hard R32 Borna Coric 6-4 7-5

Coric 2016 FastFacts:
F: Chennai (l Wawrinka)
YTD W-L: 9-8 (8-7 on hard, 1-1 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: November 14, 1996
Emirates ATP Ranking: 47
Miami W-L (Best Result-Year): 1-1 (2R – 2015)

• The 19-year-old Croat is making his second straight appearance in Miami. One of three Croats (Cilic, Dodig) in main draw. Last year reached 2R (d. Haider-Maurer, l. to No. 20 Goffin)
• Began season by reaching 1st ATP World Tour final at Chennai (d. Bautista Agut 76 in 3rd, l. to No. 4 Wawrinka). Became 1st teen to play in an ATP final since countryman Cilic at 2008 New Haven (d. Fish)
• Spent 9 hours, 29 minutes on court en route to final, nearly 3 times Wawrinka’s 3 hours, 16 minutes
• After falling to Goffin in 5 sets,clinched Croatia’s 3-2 win over Belgium in Davis Cup 1R (d. Coppejans). Croatia will play the U.S. on the road in July in QFs
• Suffered 4-match losing streak after Chennai SF win over Bedene

Istomin 2016 FastFacts:

YTD W-L: 0-7 (0-7 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: September 7, 1986
Emirates ATP Ranking: 76
Miami W-L (Best Result-Year): 3-6 (3R- 2014)

• No. 1 player from Uzbekistan is making his 7th straight Miami appearance (3-6 record). His best result is 3R in 2014 when he beat Mahut and Tursunov (l. to No. 1 Nadal)
• Looking for 1st win of season (0-7) after 1R losses at Brisbane, Sydney, Australian Open, Montpellier, Rotterdam, Dubai and Indian Wells Won only 3 sets, falling in 3 sets to Seppi at Sydney, 4 sets to Tomic at Australian Open and 3 sets to Kudla in Indian Wells
• Also 0-3 in doubles this season with 1R losses at Sydney, Australian Open and Montpellier

Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) vs [Q] Benjamin Becker (GER) Baghdatis Leads 2-0
12 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R128 Marcos Baghdatis 6-1 7-6(5) 6-2
13 Basel (Switzerland) Hard R32 Marcos Baghdatis 7-6(8) 6-1

Other meeting:
14 Nottingham CH (Great Britain) Grass R32 Marcos Baghdatis 6-4 6-4

Baghdatis 2016 FastFacts:
F: Dubai (l Wawrinka); QF: Montpellier (l Gasquet)
YTD W-L: 7-4 (7-4 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 4
Date of Birth: June 17, 1985
Emirates ATP Ranking: 40
Miami W-L (Best Result-Year): 6-8 (3R – 2006, 2010, 2014)

• The 30-year-old Cypriot is making his 9th tournament appearance (6-8 record) and his best results is 3R in 2006 (l. to No. 5 Davydenko, 2010 (l. to No. 9 Cilic) and 2014 (l. to No. 11 Tsonga)
• Last month defeated Troicki, Bautista Agut and Lopez en route to Dubai final (l. to No. 4 Wawrinka)
• Fell to 4-9 in ATP World Tour singles finals with 5 straight losses
• Extended Davis Cup singles win streak to 36 matches with 4 victories March 2-5, passing Borg for all-time record
• Reached Montpellier QF with straight-set wins over Lacko and Daniel (l. to No. 10 Gasquet)
• Fell in Australian Open 1R (l. to No. 10 Tsonga) and Rotterdam 2R (d. Goffin 76 in 3rd, l. to Klizan)

Becker 2016 FastFacts:
QF(2): Memphis (l Fritz); Delray Beach (l Ram)
YTD W-L: 4-5 (4-5 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: June 16, 1981
Emirates ATP Ranking: 100
Miami W-L (Best Result-Year): 8-9 (4R – 2010, ‘14)

• The 34-year-old German qualified into main draw and making his 10th tournament appearance (8-9 record). His best result is 4R in 2010 (l. to No. 8 Roddick) and ’14 as a lucky loser (l. to No. 12 Raonic)
• Last month advanced to back-to-back QFs at Memphis (l. to Fritz) and Delray Beach (l. to Ram)
• In Delray Beach 2R, rallied from 75 40 down to defeat fellow former NCAA champion Johnson
• Qualified at Doha (l. to L. Mayer in 1R) and Auckland (l. to Kohlschreiber in 1R)
• Reached Puebla, MEX Challenger SF (d. Cachin, Stanek and Souza; l. to Krstin 76 in 3rd)

GRANDSTAND

[Q] Tommy Paul (USA) vs [Q] Tim Smyczek (USA) First ATP Meeting

Other meetings:
15 Knoxville CH (U.S.A.) Hard R32 Tim Smyczek 6-4 6-4
16 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells Q Hard Q2 Tim Smyczek 3-6 6-3 7-5

Paul 2016 FastFacts:

YTD W-L: 0-2 (0-2 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: May 17, 1997
Emirates ATP Ranking: 215 (Career-high)
Miami W-L (Best Result-Year): Main Draw Debut

• The 18-year-old New Jersey native qualified into main draw for 1st time and 1 of 5 Americans to qualify
• Comes in a career-high No. 215 and is expected to break Top 200 after Miami (16 Q pts. + 10 1R)
• Began season in January with back-to-back Futures titles in Florida on clay (d. Puget in both)
• Received wild card into Memphis (l. to Becker in 1R) and qualified in Acapulco (l. to Marchenko in 1R)
• Lost in final round of qualifying at ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to Smyczek)
• Last year’s Roland Garros junior champion (d. Fritz) is looking for his first career ATP World Tour level main draw win (0-3)

Smyczek 2016 FastFacts:

QF: Delray Beach (l Querrey)
YTD W-L: 3-4 (3-4 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: December 30, 1987
Emirates ATP Ranking: 132
Miami W-L (Best Result-Year): 1-2 (2R – 2015)

• The 28-year-old Wisconsin native is making his 3rd tournament appearance (1-2 record) and his best result is 2R last year (d. Menendez-Maceira, l. to No. 13 Tsonga in 3 sets). Made debut in 2013 as a qualifier and lost to Tursunov in 1R
• Last month, advanced to 2nd ATP World Tour QF of career at Delray Beach as WC (d. Fritz and Young, l. to eventual champion Querrey)
• Qualified at Australian Open for 2nd straight year and reached 2R (d. Gimeno-Traver, l. to Troicki)
• Reached Dallas, USA Challenger SF (d. Krueger, Harrison and Matosevic; l. to Edmund)

Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) vs Santiago Giraldo (COL) First Meeting

Mathieu 2016 FastFacts:
F: Montpellier (l Gasquet)
YTD W-L: 5-4 (5-4 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 4
Date of Birth: January 12, 1982
Emirates ATP Ranking: 62
Miami W-L (Best Result-Year): 7-8 (4R – 2007-08)

• The 34-year-old Frenchman is making his 9th main draw appearance in Miami (7-8 record) and his best result is 4R in 2007 (d. No. 5 Gonzalez, l. to No. 12 Murray) and ’08 (l. to No. 2 Nadal). Also 3R in ’09 (l. to No. 3 Djokovic)
• In February, fell short of 1st ATP World Tour title since 2007 with loss in Montpellier final (d. Paire in 2R, l. to No. 10 Gasquet). On a 5-match losing streak in finals (4-6) and 22-match losing streak vs. Top 10 opponents (10-59)
• Saved 1 MP in 63 46 76(7) win over Ramos-Viñolas in Doha 1R (l. to Chardy in 2R)
• Fell to 1-9 in Challenger finals with 3-set loss to Rublev in Quimper, FRA championship match

Giraldo 2016 FastFacts:

YTD W-L: 4-6 (1-3 on hard, 3-3 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: November 27, 1987
Emirates ATP Ranking: 83
Miami W-L (Best Result-Year): 4-7 (3R – 2015)

• The Colombian No. 1 is making his 8th main draw appearance in Miami (4-7 record) and last year turned in 3R best showing (bye, d. Haase, l. to No. 4 Murray). Also 2R in 2010, 2012-13
• Won 1R match at Australian Open (d. Young), Buenos Aires (d. Cervantes), Rio de Janeiro (d. Elias) and São Paulo (d. Cecchinato)
• Reached Australian Open 2R for 5th time in career (d. Young, l. to Sousa)
• Advanced to Canberra, AUS Challenger QF (d. Sela in 1R, l. to Dodig)

[WC] Elias Ymer (SWE) vs Federico Delbonis (ARG) First Meeting

Ymer 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 0-1 (0-1 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: April 10, 1996
Emirates ATP Ranking: 142
Miami W-L (Best Result-Year): Main Draw Debut

• The 19-year-old Swedish wild card (turns 20 on April 10) is making his tournament debut and 1 of 9 teenagers in main draw
• No. 1 of three Swedes in Top 500 Emirates ATP Rankings (others No. 241 Christian Lindell, No. 481 Magnus Eriksson)
• Qualified at Montpellier with win over fellow 19-year-olds Janvier and Khachanov (l. to Mathieu in 1R)
• Lost to Olivo in Australian Open qualifying 1st round after qualifying at all 4 Grand Slams in 2015
• Advanced to Jonkoping, SWE Challenger QF (d. Nedovyesov and Lestienne, l. to Middelkoop)

Delbonis 2016 FastFacts:
QF(2): Rio de Janeiro (l Cuevas); Sao Paulo (l Cervantes)
YTD W-L: 10-6 (6-3 on hard, 4-3 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: October 5, 1990
Emirates ATP Ranking: 48
Miami W-L (Best Result-Year): 1-2 (2R – 2015)

• The 25-year-old Argentine is making his 3rd straight tournament appearance (1-2 record) and last year defeated Vesely (l. to No. 7 Ferrer in 2R). Made debut in 2014 (l. to Harrison in 1R)
• Earned biggest win of career over No. 2 Murray 76 in 3rd en route to Indian Wells 4R (l. to Monfils)
• Reached Grand Slam 3R for 1st time in 10th major at Australian Open (d. Karlovic and Olivo, l. to Simon)
• Advanced to back-to-back QFs at Rio de Janeiro (d. Sock, l. to Cuevas) and São Paulo (l. to Cervantes) on clay
• Won at least 1 match in all 6 events during 1st 3 months of season

COURT 1

[WC] Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP) vs Aljaz Bedene (GBR) First ATP Meeting

Other meeting:
14 Kenitra CH (Morocco) Clay QF R. Carballes Baena 7-6(3) 2-6 7-6(5)

Carballes Baena 2016 FastFacts:
QF: Sao Paulo (l Carreno Busta)
YTD W-L: 3-2 (3-2 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: March 23, 1993
Emirates ATP Ranking: 114
Miami W-L (Best Result-Year): 1-2 (2R – 2015)

• The 23-year-old Spaniard (birthday yesterday) is making his tournament debut and appearing in first career hard court event on ATP World Tour
• Reached 2nd ATP World Tour QF at São Paulo as LL (d. Bellucci, l. to Carreño Busta)
• In only other tour-level event of 2016, advanced to Quito 2R (d. Krajicek, l. to Tomic in 3 sets)
• Owns 7-5 record on ATP Challenger Tour, highlighted by SF run at Mendoza, ARG (l. to G. Melzer)
• Played exclusively on Latin American clay during 1st 10 weeks of season

Bedene 2016 FastFacts:
SF: Chennai (l Coric)
YTD W-L: 4-6 (4-5 on hard, 0-1 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: July 18, 1989
Emirates ATP Ranking: 57
Miami W-L (Best Result – Year): 3-2 (3R – 2014)

• The 26-year-old British No. 2 is making his 3rd main draw appearance in Miami. Made debut in 2013 and defeated Becker (l. to Seppi in 2R). Two years ago reached 3R as a qualifier (d. Wang, Pospisil, l. to Becker). Last year lost in 1R qualifying (l. to Jasika)
• Reached QF-or-better for 4th straight year at Chennai, falling in SF (l. to Coric)
• Owns 12-4 career record at Chennai and 31-52 record everywhere else
• Posted only other win of season in Acapulco 1R when opponent Karlovic retired with knee injury
• Held 5 MPs vs. Querrey in Auckland 1R before retiring in 3rd set due to leg injury

Hyeon Chung (KOR) vs Denis Kudla (USA) First ATP Meeting

Other meetings:
15 Busan CH (South Korea) Hard R16 Hyeon Chung 7-6(3) 7-6(5)
15 Seoul CH (South Korea) Hard QF Hyeon Chung 6-1 6-2

Chung 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 5-7 (5-7 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: May 19, 1996
Emirates ATP Ranking: 67
Miami W-L (Best Result-Year): 1-1 (2R – 2015)

• The 19-year-old Korean is making his 2nd straight appearance. Last year came in ranked No. 121 and beat No. 50 Granollers (l. to No. 9 Berdych in 2R)
• Last month, earned biggest win of career by ranking over No. 34 Garcia-Lopez in Rotterdam 1R (l. to Troicki in 2R)
• Also advanced to 2R at Brisbane (d. Groth, l. to Cilic) and Dubai (d. Seppi, l. to Bautista Agut)
• Swept 6 sets to defeat Venus and Statham in Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I (KOR d. NZL 3-1
• Fell to eventual champion Djokovic in 1R of Australian Open debut
• Qualified and earned 1st 2 ATP doubles wins of career at Dubai w/Vesely, falling to Lopez/Lopez in SF

Kudla 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 4-6 (4-6 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: August 17, 1992
Emirates ATP Ranking: 63
Miami W-L (Best Result-Year): 0-1 (1R – 2012)

• The 23-year-old American is making his 2nd main draw appearance, 1st since 2012 when he lost in 1R (l. to Veic) as a wild card. Lost in 1R qualifying in 2014-15
• Advanced to 2R at Brisbane (l. to Thiem), Australian Open (l. to Seppi) and Memphis (l. to Kukushkin)
• Achieved career-high No. 59 in Emirates ATP Rankings on February 8
• Fell to del Potro 61 64 in Delray Beach 1R – Argentine’s 1st match since ‘15 ATP Masters 1000 Miami

[WC] Nicolas Jarry (CHI) vs Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) First Meeting

Jarry 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 0-1
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: October 11, 1995
Emirates ATP Ranking: 472
Miami W-L (Best Result – Year): Main Draw Debut

• The 20-year-old Chilean is making his Miami main draw debut
• In lone tour-level appearance this season, lost to No. 6 Ferrer 63 76(3) as WC in Rio de Janeiro 1R
• Qualified at Bucaramanga, COL Challenger, falling to Zeballos 76(1) 75 in 1R. Has 1-4 Challenger W-L
• Captured Futures doubles title at Palm Coast, USA w/Saez (d. Nagy/Spencer)
• Reached career-high No. 172 on May 11 last year

Stakhovsky 2016 FastFacts:

YTD W-L: 1-5 (1-5 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 4
Date of Birth: January 6, 1986
Emirates ATP Ranking: 115
Miami W-L (Best Result – Year): 3-6 (3R – 2010)

• The 30-year-old Ukrainian is making his 7th main draw appearance and looking to break a 3-match 1R losing streak in Miami (2012, ’14-15). Reached 2R in 2011 and best result 3R in 2010 (d. Hajek, Benneteau, l. to No. 8 Roddick)
• Opened season with 1-5 tour-level record, posting lone win in Marseille 1R (d. Lopez 76 in 3rd)
• Fell to No. 4 Wawrinka in Marseille 2R after holding 2 MPs and in Dubai 1R after being 2 points from win
• Back injury forced w/o in Quimper, FRA Challenger SF vs. Rublev and withdrawal from Indian Wells

COURT 2

Adrian Mannarino (FRA) vs Illya Marchenko (UKR) First Meeting

Nicolas Mahut (FRA) vs [Q] Tatsuma Ito (JPN) Mahut Leads 1-0
12 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R64 Nicolas Mahut 1-6 7-6(6) 6-2 6-2

Damir Dzumhur (BIH) vs Leonardo Mayer (ARG) First Meeting

COURT 7

Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) vs John Millman (AUS) First Meeting

[PR] Brian Baker (USA) vs Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) Baker Leads 1-0
12 Nice (France) Clay QF Brian Baker 4-6 6-3 7-6(4)

COURT 8

[LL] Rogerio Dutra Silva (BRA) vs Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) First Meeting

[Q] Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) vs Lukas Rosol (CZE) First Meeting

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Wawrinka Looks Ahead To Miami 2016

  • Posted: Mar 24, 2016

Wawrinka Looks Ahead To Miami 2016

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Nadal Hits Hot Shot In Miami 2016 Doubles

  • Posted: Mar 24, 2016

Nadal Hits Hot Shot In Miami 2016 Doubles

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Coric Fools Istomin With Hot Shot

  • Posted: Mar 24, 2016

Coric Fools Istomin With Hot Shot

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Djokovic Delights Fan With 'Promposal'

  • Posted: Mar 24, 2016

Djokovic Delights Fan With 'Promposal'

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Istomin Stops Coric In Miami 2016 Thursday Highlights

  • Posted: Mar 24, 2016

Istomin Stops Coric In Miami 2016 Thursday Highlights

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Del Potro Sets Federer Clash

  • Posted: Mar 24, 2016

Del Potro Sets Federer Clash

Former World No. 4 to meet Federer for 21st time

Juan Martin del Potro has locked in a second-round showdown with Swiss No. 3 seed Roger Federer at the Miami Open. The 27-year-old Argentine, playing just his third event since returning to the ATP World Tour from left wrist surgeries, downed his countryman, Guido Pella, 6-0, 7-6(4) on Wednesday night.

Federer leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with del Potro 15-5 (10-5 on hard court) but the Argentine’s lone Grand Slam singles title – the 2009 US Open – came with a defeat of the Swiss great in the final. In his eighth appearance in Miami, del Potro extended his win-loss record to 14-7, with his best result coming in 2009, when he reached the semi-finals (l. Murray).

He raced through the opening set without conceding a game in under half an hour before Pella, No. 39 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, would get on the board for 1-1 in the second set. Del Potro had a match point with Pella serving to stay in the match at 4-5 but would have to wait until the tie-break to seal the deal. He progressed on his second match point, 7/4, after one hour and 29 minutes.

It marked a triumphant return for the Argentine. He bowed out in the opening round last year to Vasek Pospisil in what would be his final match of the season.

In his comeback event at the Delray Beach Open last month, he reached the semi-finals before falling to eventual champion Sam Querrey. He fell in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open last week to Tomas Berdych.

#NextGen qualifier Taylor Fritz continued his run of recent form, seeing off Italian Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-2. The 18-year-old American thumped down seven aces and did not face a break point in the one-hour, 11-minute affair. 

Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas saved a match point with an inside-out forehand winner on his way past Colombian Alejandro Gonzalez 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(3). The pair battled for two hours and 42 minutes before Ramos-Vinolas prevailed. He broke five times and held 75 per cent of first-serve points throughout.

Vasek Pospisil also ground out a third-set tie-break victory. The Canadian held off Argentine Diego Schwartzman 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) on the back of nine aces.

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Djokovic Begins Quest For Masters 1000 Record

  • Posted: Mar 24, 2016

Djokovic Begins Quest For Masters 1000 Record

Top seed has chance to stand alone with most ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles

Records fuel a dominant World No. 1’s ambitions and this week, defending Miami Open champion Novak Djokovic will look to set an impressive new benchmark to pull clear of Rafael Nadal.

The 28-year-old Serb drew level with the Spaniard for the most ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles following his victory at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Sunday. And should he complete his fourth Indian Wells-Miami double he would claim a record 29 titles at that level.

In 2007, Djokovic claimed his first Australian Open crown before going on to land his maiden Masters 1000 title in Miami. Eight years on, he is a heavy favourite to do the same.

“For me Miami represents something special because it was the first big tournament that I won back in 2007, beating Guillermo Cañas in the final,” Djokovic said. “It helped me to believe and build my self-confidence for the rest of my career. I used it as a springboard basically for everything else that was coming up after that.”

This week marks the first time Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer have contested the same event since this year’s Australian Open back in January. It marks Federer’s first tournament back since undergoing knee surgery.

“It’s great to have Roger back,” Novak said. “He hasn’t played a couple of years in Miami.

“He had the injury after the Australian Open that prevented him from playing in Dubai and Indian Wells. But he’s such an important player for our sport, everything that he has achieved in his life, his tennis career.

“I’m very glad that all the top players are taking part in this tournament, I expect some good tennis. I see the fans are already excited, coming in big numbers in the opening days of the tournament.

“So I look forward to it. I’ve had a very successful last couple of years in Miami. The fact that I have five days between Indian Wells final and the first match here gives me enough time to get used to the conditions and get ready for the challenge.”

Djokovic will open his campaign after a first-round bye against Brit Kyle Edmund, a three-set winner over Czech Jiri Vesely. The pair has never met.

“He’s very calm, seems very mature for his age, the way he behaves off the court; he’s very respectful of the game,” Djokovic said. “He’s one of the youngsters everyone is looking up to and expecting to make a breakthrough.”

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