Stefanos Tsitsipas admits the disappointment of falling at the final hurdle in his bid for a maiden ATP 500 title in Acapulco last week is only fuelling his run at the Miami Open presented by Itau. The No. 2 seed said he was using the defeat as a chance to “show something that I haven’t done before” in South Florida this week.
On Monday, the Greek will need to do just that as he bids for a first win over former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori for a place in the Round of 16. The Japanese star won the pair’s only prior ATP Head2Head encounter on home soil in the 2018 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships quarter-finals.
But much has changed for both men since that clash over two years ago. Tsitsipas has lifted his first five ATP Tour titles and reached three Grand Slam semi-finals on his rise to World No. 5. Nishikori, who underwent elbow surgery in October 2019, has fallen some 30 places in the FedEx ATP Rankings. The 31-year-old, however, has beaten Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alex de Minaur and David Goffin this season and he overcame Aljaz Bedene on Saturday in two hours and 50 minutes.
Tsitsipas became only the third player to notch 15 wins this season — after Russians Andrey Rublev (17) and Daniil Medvedev (16) — with his straight-sets victory over Bosnian Damir Dzumhur in the Round of 64.
“It’s a place that [Nishikori] trains, so I guess he’s acclimatised to the conditions,” Tsitsipas said. “He’s a player that has played very well in the past, and even now he can raise his level really high.
“I’ll try and be ready for the battle. It’s important for me to have matches against strong opponents like him… It’s a strong third round, I won’t hide it. It’s important for me to be ready for that match and be physically prepared.”
In the second match of the day on Grandstand, fourth seed Rublev will square off against No. 29 seed Marton Fucsovics for the third time in the pair’s past four ATP Tour events. Had it not been for Fucsovics’ withdrawal ahead of their Qatar ExxonMobil Open quarter-final, this would have been their fourth clash in as many events.
After losing the pair’s first meeting in a five-set Davis Cup rubber in 2017, Rublev has won all of the pair’s three matches since, including in the fourth round at Roland Garros last year. The No. 4 seed conceded only three games against Tennys Sandgren in a rain-interrupted showdown on Saturday and has his sights set on reaching the Round of 16 in Miami for the first time.
Hungarian Fucsovics needed three hours and 11 minutes to see off Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round. His best result this season was a runner-up finish to Rublev at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.
Fucsovics Out To Flip The Script On Familiar Foe Rublev In Miami
Sixth seed Denis Shapovalov required more than three hours on court and even longer off it to overcome two rain delays and Belarusian Ilya Ivashka to reach the Round of 32. A Miami semi-finalist two years ago, the Canadian meets Delray Beach champion Hubert Hurkacz for a quarter-final berth.
The Pole carries a 2-1 ATP Head2Head record into the clash, however Shapovalov did win their most recent showdown in Dubai this month. Hurkacz hammered 12 aces on Saturday to beat Denis Kudla 7-6(5), 6-4.
“[It is] definitely a super tricky next match,” Shapovalov said. “Me and Hubert have played many times now and just recently in Dubai. I felt like I played really, really exceptional tennis [there]. Hopefully I can use that confidence and use those moments from last week and try to transition it into this week.”
#NextGenATP American Sebastian Korda will attempt to spring his second straight upset when he vies for a maiden Round of 16 appearance in Miami against No. 17 seed Aslan Karatsev. The 20-year-old came from a set down to pull off his biggest career win over No. 10 seed Fabio Fognini.
Korda will face one of the season’s most in-form players in the 27-year-old Russian. Karatsev eased past Mikhail Kukushkin in his debut ATP Masters 1000 match, which marked his first appearance since his maiden ATP Tour title run at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Watch Live | View TV Schedule
SCHEDULE – MONDAY, 29 MARCH 2021
GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
WTA MATCH
[29] M. Fucsovics (HUN) vs [4] A. Rublev (RUS)
WTA MATCH
Not Before 7:00 pm
[28] K. Nishikori (JPN) vs [2] S. Tsitsipas (GRE)
BUTCH BUCHHOLZ start 11:00 am
M. Cilic (CRO) vs L. Musetti (ITA)
[6] D. Shapovalov (CAN) vs [26] H. Hurkacz (POL)
[5] D. Schwartzman (ARG) vs [25] A. Mannarino (FRA)
[17] A. Karatsev (RUS) vs S. Korda (USA)
D. Galan (COL) vs [24] L. Sonego (ITA)
COURT 2 start 11:00 am
[20] U. Humbert (FRA) vs [12] M. Raonic (CAN)
[7] R. Ram (USA) / J. Salisbury (GBR) vs [Alt] M. Demoliner (BRA) / S. Gonzalez (MEX)
T. Fritz (USA) / J. Isner (USA) vs [2] N. Mektic (CRO) / M. Pavic (CRO)
[1] J. Cabal (COL) / R. Farah (COL) vs M. Arevalo (ESA) / H. Tecau (ROU)