32 year old John Isner had struggled his way through 2018 with just one match win, but in Miami he turned it on, winning six straight to capture the biggest ATP title of his career. A long time battler on the ATP Tour, Isner will return to the top 10 after dispatching Alexander Zverev 6-7 6-4 6-4 in the final, preventing Zverev from taking a third career Masters title.
Isner heated up with early wins against Jiri Vesely, and Mikhail Youzhny, then upset Marin Cilic, Hyeon Chung, and Juan Martin Del Potro in consecutive matches to reach the final. His last three wins prior to the final dominant performances. Zverev ran through a tough road of Daniil Medvedev, David Ferrer, Nick Kyrgios, Borna Coric, and Pablo Carreno Busta, posting a solid week despite a tough finals loss.
With the ATP season switching to clay, Zverev should have more success ahead, while Isner is unlikely to make much of a dent in big events until the hard court Summer, but he’ll still have the memory of the biggest result in his career coming in 2018.
Top seed Roger Federer was upset by Thanasi Kokkinakis early on, as Kokkinakis played up to his potential and got past a fatigued Federer in three sets, never backing down.
The Bryan brothers took the doubles title defeating Russia’s Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev in the doubles final for their 37th Masters 1000 title.
2018 ATP Miami Preview and Predictions: Are We Headed for Another Federer vs. Del Potro Final? Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
The second Masters 1000 stop of the season is on the sun baked hard courts of Miami, a joint event with the WTA. Will Roger Federer surge back from defeat at the Indian Wells final to defend his Miami title? or will a new Masters 1000 champion emerge from the field. Here is your full preview, with predictions.
Federer’s Quarter
After losing his first match of 2018 in Indian Wells, defending champion Roger Federer will face Thanasi Kokkinakis or Calvin Hemery in the second round. Fernando Verdasco or Tennys Sandgren/Guillermo Garcia-Lopez await in round 3. Verdasco isn’t playing poorly but unless Federer has a back injury he should reach the fourth round. Pablo Carreno Busta played well enough in Indian Wells to ease past Denis Istomin/Miomir Kecmanovic and then Adrian Mannarino or Steve Johnson/Victor Estrella in round 3.
Kevin Anderson and Tomas Berdych should face off in the round of 16. Anderson’s path is Nikoloz Basilashvili/Thomas Fabbiano, then Karen Khachanov or Marius Copil/Mikhail Kukushkin. Berdych will need to watch out for Alex De Minaur and Frances Tiafoe/Kyle Edmund (or Nicolas Kicker) in his first two matches but I’ll still make him the favorite to reach round 4.
I’ll back Daniil Medvedev to have a good tournament, defeating young guns Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev in consecutive contests. David Ferrer will face Evgeny Donskoy/Aljaz Bedene before facing Medvedev or Zverev in round 3. I’ll go with Medvedev to survive a challenging section.
Nick Kyrgios is back and should find his way against Dusan Lajovic/Horacio Zeballos before defeating Fabio Fognini in round 3. Fognini needs only to defeat Nicola Kuhn/Darian King in the second round.
Jack Sock takes on Yuki Bhambri or Mirza Basic then faces IW semifinalist Borna Coric in round 3, presuming Coric beats Donald Young/Leonardo Mayer. With Sock very shaky I’ll go with Coric to survive into round 4.
Opportunity awaits for either Sam Querrey or Denis Shapovalov, Shapovalov opens with Viktor Troicki then faces Damir Dzumhur. Querrey will take on Radu Albot/Ricardas Berankis. On Hard Courts in the States I’ll give the veteran Querrey a narrow edge to reach round 4.
Dark Horses should suprise in the Dimitrov section. Marton Fucsovics is a rising talent and after putting away Max Marterer, I’ll take him in an upset against a struggling Dimitrov. Richard Gasquet is struggling as well, and countryman Jeremy Chardy should defeat him after defeating Rogerio Dutra Silva. I’ll go with Chardy into round 4.
A semifinalist in Indian Wells, Milos Raonic looks to be finding form again. He will take on J.L. Struff or Mikael Ymer in round 2, Diego Schwartzman or Nicolas Jarry/Cam Norrie will follow. I’ll go with Raonic over Schwartzman to reach round 4.
Novak Djokovic struggled in Indian Wells, but if he can rebuild his confidence a bit he should defeat Mischa Zverev/Benoit Paire to reach the third round. His Serbian countryman Filip Krajinovic awaits in round 3. Krajinovic faces Bjorn Fratangelo/Liam Broady for a spot in round 3. Djokovic is the favorite in his section but anything could happen.
IW champ Juan Martin Del Potro will face Yuichi Sugita or Robin Haase. Peter Gojowczyk/John Millman will face Kei Nishikori in round 2. A healthy Nishikori should reach round 3, but I’m not sure he troubles Del Potro unless the Argentine is out of gas.
Marin Cilic could be in for a tough match against Taylor Fritz (or Pierre-Hugues Herbert) in round 2, but he should be favored in that match, and against Andrey Rublev. Rublev faces Ivo Karlovic/Vasek Pospisil for a spot in round 3.
John Isner is struggling, but he should defeat Jiri Vesely/Lukas Lacko before facing Gilles Muller in round 3. Muller’s path to that point is getting past either Guido Pella or Mikhail Youzhny. I’ll give Muller a slight edge over a struggling Isner, though Isner could find form here.
Roberto Bautista Agut takes on Chris Eubanks or Michael Mmoh, a tougher test against Hyeon Chung awaits in round 3. I’ll go with Chung to beat Gilles Simon/Matt Ebden, and then RBA to reach round 4 in an upset.
David Goffin takes on Joao Sousa/Ryan Harrison, I have him facing Jared Donaldson in round 3 after Donaldson defeats fan favorite Marcos Baghdatis and Feliciano Lopez. Goffin is my favorite against Donaldson.
Predictions
Round of 16 Federer d. Carreno Busta
Anderson d. Berdych
Medvedev d. Kyrgios
Coric d. Querrey
Del Potro d. Djokovic
Raonic d. Chardy
Chung d. Goffin
Cilic d. Muller
The matches in the bottom half look more competitive than the top half, I’ll back Medvedev, Coric, Del Potro, and Chung by narrow margins in their matchups.
Roger Federer Completes 2017 Sunshine Double with Title in Miami Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
Roger Federer completed the Sunshine double, improving to #4 in the world and continuing his dominance in 2017 with a 6-3 6-4 victory, his third straight, over Rafael Nadal in the Miami Open final. Federer, now 35, has turned back the clock and is the ATP’s best player right now, with few signs that any other player on tour can stop him at the moment. Nick Kyrgios and Tomas Berdych both came close, pushing the Swiss maestro to a third set tiebreak, and prior to that Roberto Bautista Agut lost two respectable tiebreaks. All of that said, in the end Federer mixed skill and experience to pull ahead and secure a twelve match winning streak that is still ongoing heading into the clay court season. Federer has finished the first quarter of the year with a 19-1 record and three titles. He also claimed early wins against Juan Martin Del Potro and Frances Tiafoe in Miami.
Nadal has also experienced a great resurgence the season, his battles with Federer continue to be the stuff of legends and he’s now 19-5 on the season, despite not yet having a title of his own. His best surface, clay, awaits after wins on the trot against Dudi Sela, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Nicolas Mahut, Jack Sock, and surprise semifinalist Fabio Fognini. Only against Kohlschreiber did Rafa drop a set prior to the final and he’s suffered just one truly shocking loss this season, a season that has seem him take part in three finals.
Veterans Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo eased past Nick Monroe and Jack Sock in the doubles final.
2017 ATP Miami Preview and Predictions from R32 Onwards Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
Two rounds of the 2017 ATP Masters 1000 in Miami are in the books, the top 5 players in the draw remain, but with Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic notably absent due to injury, we could see a new winner in Miami. Here is a look at the remaining rounds of the tournament.
Miami Open presented by Itau
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Miami, FL, USA
March 22-April 2, 2017
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $6,993,450
Top Half:
Last week’s Indian Wells finalist Stan Wawrinka got the top seed spot in Miami and posted a routine win over Horacio Zeballos in round 2, with Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri up next. Jaziri is in-form, having won five of his last six matches, but Wawrinka has been a consistent performer this season and should overpower his rival shotmaker. John Isner has been struggling, but he did pick up a round 2 win over Thomaz Bellucci. With the young gun Alexander Zverev opposite him in round 3, it should be Zverev picking up the win (after defeating Rendy Lu in round 2), to face off with Wawrinka in the round of 16. Wawrinka will be the favorite in that one.
Nick Kyrgios continued his good form from Indian Wells, the Aussie picked up a win against Damir Dzumhur, and now has to face Ivo Karlovic, who was a winner over Andrey Kuznetsov round 2. Karlovic’s big serve is dangerous, but Kyrgios should be able to string together comfortable holds and win tiebreaks to reach the fourth round. David Goffin’s draw opened up after Diego Schwartzman scored wins over Karen Khachanov and David Ferrer, Goffin looks set to beat the Argentine before falling to Kyrgios.
Sam Querrey will have a winnable match against another Spaniard, Roberto Bautista Agut, after defeating Tommy Robredo in round 2. The American is a solid competitor, but RBA, who beat Mikhail Kukushkin round 2, should be the favorite. IW champion Roger Federer put away Frances Tiafoe, while Juan Martin Del Potro ended Robin Haase’s run to setup a huge third round clash. Del Potro has the ability to defeat Federer, but Federer remains extremely formidable right now and should prevail to face Querrey/RBA.
Tomas Berdych has been struggling all year, but a win over Andrey Rublev has setup a winnable contest with Gilles Muller for him in round 3, after Muller defeated Andreas Seppi. Berdych should make an even deeper run as long as he beat Borna Coric or Adrian Mannarino. This section opened up after Coric took top 10 player Dominic Thiem to the woodshed, playing his best tennis since coming back from injury, and again putting himself on the young gun radar. Federer or Del Potro are heavy favorites in this section.
Kei Nishikori badly needs a strong result in this tournament as the #2 seed, the Japanese #1 will face Fernando Verdasco after Verdasco defeated Ernesto Escobedo, and Nishikori eased past Kevin Anderson. In round 4 it will be J.L. Struff or Federico Delbonis, a surprising pair who face off in round 3 after Struff upset Gilles Simon and Delbonis upset IW semifinalist Pablo Carreno Busta. Struff mentally struggles at times, and it should be Nishikori over Delbonis for a spot in the quarterfinals.
One of Jeremy Chardy, Fabio Fognini, Benoit Paire, and Donald Young will be a Masters quarterfinalist after Chardy upset a struggling Marin Cilic, Fognini beat Joao Sousa, Paire defeated Pablo Cuevas, and Young upset Lucas Pouille. Paire and Chardy are slight favorites to advance, with Paire my pick to make the quarterfinals. He has the talent, but has lacked focus.
After Milos Raonic defeated Viktor Troicki in round 2, he looks set for a big clash with Jack Sock, as long as Sock beats Jiri Vesely, and Raonic beats American Jared Donaldson. Sock reached the semis in IW and is in-form, while Raonic is still just returning from injury and has rust, making Sock the favorite.
Rafael Nadal has a clear path to the quarterfinals, he dispatched Dudi Sela, should do the same against Philipp Kohlschreiber, who barely survived Taylor Fritz, neither Nicolas Mahut, who upset Steve Johnson in round 2, or Guido Pella, who stunned Grigor Dimitrov after narrowly defeating Tim Smyczek, is formidable, and Nadal should be able to win out and make a run.
Predictions
Quarters:
Wawrinka d. Kyrgios
Federer d. Berdych
Nadal d. Sock
Nishikori d. Paire
Kyrgios at his best can beat a player of Wawrinka’s caliber, but Stan is more consistent. Federer and Nadal have relatively clear paths, and Nishikori should be in the semis with his draw.
Despite the opportunity for a new pair of finalists, a Federer vs. Nadal final makes sense. Nadal has never won in Miami, while Federer last won it over ten years ago.
Final Federer d. Nadal
Federer proved he has cracked Nadal’s code after two straight wins on hard courts against his Spanish rival this year. Nadal is much improved from last year, but Federer is on an even higher level and has everything to play for.
Six of Novak Djokovic’s record 28 Masters titles have come in Miami now, as the Serbian superstar and world #1 deftly handled Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-3 in just an hour and a half of tennis. The title also means that he’s completed the Indian Wells+Miami “double”, for the third year in a row. Novak continues to dominate men’s tennis, and has been unstoppable early this season, without a loss when in full health (27-0 with 1 retirement and four titles).
Kei Nishikori gave it his best shot in his second career Masters final, and his ninth meeting against Djokovic. The Japanese #1 is now 0-5 against Djokovic since stunning him to reach the 2014 US Open final. Nishikori was not one of the tournament favorites going in, but he surprisingly handled the Miami spring heat well to earn wins over Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Roberto Bautista Agut, Gael Monfils, and Nick Kyrgios, dropping just a set to Monfils, where he was pushed to a third set tiebreak. Nishikori’s serve was the big liability for him, as Djokovic found a way to return well enough for the easy win.
Kyrgios has now made the semifinals or better in three ATP tournaments this season. The Aussie reached his first Masters semi with wins over Milos Raonic and Andrey Kuznetsov most notably. Stan Wawrinka, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Rafael Nadal all went home early due to some combination of illness, or poor play, as the Miami bottom half was left rather barren.
Djokovic beat Kyle Edmund, Joao Sousa, Dominic Thiem, Tomas Berdych, and David Goffin without dropping a set, or so much as being threatened this week, as even Goffin’s efforts were not enough. The Belgian took advantage of Federer’s absence to defeat Gilles Simon and reach the semifinals for the second week in a row (also did so in Indian Wells).
Like Djokovic, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut completed the Masters double, capturing the Miami title, after doing so in Indian Wells. The French team is playing remarkably well at the moment and beat Rajeev Ram and Raven Klaasen to take the title.
The ATP now heads to clay, and the big question is, can anyone stop Djokovic on his “worst” surface? or will the world #1 continue his unblemished play.
2016 ATP Miami Preview and Predictions Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
The second Masters tournament of the season starts today in Miami as the ATP World Tour follows the sun and the world’s best players will bask in the beautiful South Florida weather this time of year.
Miami Open presented by Itau
ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Miami, FL, USA
March 23-April 3, 2016
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $6,134,605
Top 8 seeds (top 32 seeds receive first round byes) (ATP ranking in parentheses)
1: Novak Djokovic (1)
2: Andy Murray (2)
3: Roger Federer (3)
4: Stan Wawrinka (4)
5: Rafael Nadal (5)
6: Kei Nishikori (6)
7: Tomas Berdych (7)
8: David Ferrer (8)
The highest ranked players absent in Miami are Kevin Anderson and Bernard Tomic. Fabio Fognini, Ivo Karlovic, Martin Klizan, and Philipp Kohlschreiber are also notably absent.
The young Japanese player Nishioka has an ATP quarterfinal this season (Memphis), and qualified for Miami. His speed and baseline consistency has earned him two previous wins over the American Donaldson. He enters this young gun battle coming off of a semifinal in the Irving challenger and this one should be a competitive contest of potential future top 20 players.
Mikhail Youzhny vs. Ernests Gulbis
Youzhny has won three straight matches over Gulbis, after dropping three straight contests prior to that. This is their first meeting since 2014, and both players have suffered a severe decline to the fringe of the ATP level. The veteran Russian earned his first ATP win of the season after a challenger winning streak, as he won a round in Indian Wells. Gulbis has lost two straight, and has just two ATP wins this season. Both are talented, and earning ATP match wins is essential in a match like this.
Fernando Verdasco vs. Gilles Muller
Verdasco and Muller have split hard court meetings. The veteran Spaniard reached the third round in Indian Wells, while Muller has been in shaky form as of late. His serve and volley game is just 3-4 over his last seven matches. Muller should be a slight favorite, but I have Verdasco pulling this match off.
(Q)Mikhail Kukushkin vs. Brian Baker
Brian Baker will be playing his first ATP match since the Australian Open, as the veteran American continues his comeback attempt after multiple serious injuries. He’ll be a fan favorite as he puts his skills up to the test against Mikhail Kukushkin. The qualifier is a solid player and should prevail, but it’s a good form test for Baker.
Lukas Rosol vs. (Q)Pierre-Hugues Herbert
Herbert is bidding for the top 100. He qualified in both IW and Miami, reached the third round in Melbourne, and won a challenger title this year. The Frenchman is a bit of a doubles specialist, but he has singles skills. Rosol reached a challenger quarterfinal but hasn’t been in great form recently. I would not be surprised to see the Czech get upset in this match.
Five time and defending champion Novak Djokovic is bidding to overtake Rafael Nadal and become the player with the most ever ATP Masters series titles. Fresh off a victory in Indian Wells the world #1 will go up against either Kyle Edmund or Jiri Vesely. With Vesely on a three match losing streak, and Edmund unimpressive right now as well, Djokovic should cruise into round 3. The seed set to face Djokovic would be Joao Sousa, however the Portugese #1 is currently on a six match losing streak, and the big serving Canadian Vasek Pospisil should beat Diego Schwartzman, and Sousa to reach round 3.
The rising Dominic Thiem won a pair of matches in Indian Wells and he should be able to add at least one more win this spring with an opening match defeat of Sam Groth or Victor Estrella. Estrella is staring down a three match losing streak, while Groth has lost seven straight. Thiem should then get a rematch of a match in Miami last year against Feliciano Lopez. Lopez opens with the Nishioka/Donaldson winner, and won a pair of matches in IW as well. Thiem is 3-1 against Lopez but dropped his last meeting against the Spaniard. Both are in good form, but Thiem has been a cut above most players on tour this year.
#7 seed Tomas Berdych and #10 seed Richard Gasquet are on track for a quarterfinal meeting in a competitive section. Berdych will open with Rajeev Ram or Evgeny Donskoy, and is likely to face young gun Alexander Zverev in round 3. The German opens with wild card Michael Mmoh, with #31 seed Steve Johnson to follow. Zverev reached the round of 16 in IW with three wins, while Berdych earned two IW wins. Berdych won a five setter in Davis Cup action over Zverev recently, and should have an edge. The American Johnson could spoil Zverev’s success however.
Gasquet also won a pair of matches in IW, and presuming he’s healthy, he should dispatch Albert Ramos or qualifier Alejandro Gonzalez in his first match. A struggling Benoit Paire will face Youzhny/Gulbis in round 2 for the right to face Gasquet in round 3. Paire has been poor this year and could well get upset, however I have Gasquet defeating him in round 3.
Federer’s quarter:
Roger Federer has two Miami titles, but he hasn’t won the tournament since 2006. Federer is making his spring debut after a knee injury forced him out after the Australian Open. One of the most exciting early round matchups should be his contest against Juan Martin Del Potro. Del Potro will need to defeat his countryman Guido Pella who reached the third round in IW. Del Potro has played well enough in his comeback thus far, but Federer is likely to win their first meeting since the end of 2013 season. Jeremy Chardy is in Federer’s seed line, but he has lost three straight and the Verdasco/Muller winner is likely to be Federer’s third round opponent. Federer is 5-0 against Muller and 6-0 against Verdasco, thus he should advance presuming he’s not rusty.
#15 seed David Goffin is set to face #19 seed Viktor Troicki in round 3. Goffin was a surprise semifinalist in IW with wins over Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic. The Belgian is having a good season and his ballstriking should out do either Bjorn Fratangelo or Marcel Granollers, both of whom are qualifiers. Granollers won a challenger title last week, while Fratangelo took a set off Novak Djokovic in IW. Troicki has lost two matches in a row, but I don’t see him losing to young Russian Andrey Rublev who comes off a challenger quarterfinal. Rublev opens with Inigo Cervantes, a Spanish journeyman. Goffin has a pair of hard court wins over Troicki, and given his better recent form he should safely reach the quarterfinals.
#6 David Ferrer should be on upset alert against qualifier Taylor Fritz in his first match. The Spaniard is just 11-6 this season, and Fritz will be in good form after defeating Italian veteran Simone Bolelli. Fritz isn’t entirely consistent yet, but the talented young gun has the skillset needed for a marquee win. Fritz can make a deep run with wins over Ferrer, and one of Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Teymuraz Gabashvili/Lucas Pouille. I have Pouille handing Gabashvili his fourth straight loss, and then upsetting a mediocre Garcia-Lopez to reach the third round. Ferrer, or the dark horse Fritz should advance from there.
#11 seed Marin Cilic and #18 seed Gilles Simon are set to face off in round 3. Cilic reached the quarterfinals in IW, while Simon is a pedestrian 6-6 this year. Cilic will face either Dennis Novikov or Dusan Lajovic first, while Simon will face Ivan Dodig or Juan Monaco. The veteran Dodig, a recent challenger semifinalist, could upset Simon, and he should beat Monaco, a loser of three straight. Simon is 4-1 against Cilic in the h2h, but given their recent form, Cilic is a clear favorite.
Two-time Miami champion and resident Andy Murray was stunned by Federico Delbonis in Indian Wells, but he’s still 9-2 on the season, and with a good record in Miami, he has a chance to have a good tournament. His first opponent will be a tough one, Borna Coric should deny Denis Istomin his first ATP win of the season again, to setup a match with Murray. Murray is 2-1 against Coric in the h2h, and he’ll be the favorite, although Borna won a pair of IW matches. Murray’s challenging draw will get no easier in round 3. He could get a rematch with Delbonis, but Delbonis would need to beat Elias Ymer and Grigor Dimitrov, who is 12-6 on the season. Dimitrov is a better hard court player and likely advances. Murray has won his last three meetings against Dimitrov, it’s a tough test, but the world #2 should prevail.
Murray has the toughest draw in the tournament, as #16 seed Gael Monfils is his likely round of 16 opponent. Monfils opens with serve and volleyer Nicolas Mahut or qualifier Tatsuma Ito, The Indian Wells quarterfinalist is 12-4 this season and should defeat Mahut/Ito and one of Pablo Cuevas/Pablo Carreno Busta/John Millman to reach the fourth round. Carreno just lost to Monfils in IW, while Cuevas is mediocre on hard courts and Millman is struggling.
Kei Nishikori and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will need to navigate challenging sections if they are going to face off in the round of 16. Nishikori will face the Rosol/Herbert winner after reaching the quarterfinals in Indian Wells. Alexandr Dolgopolov should follow in round 3 after defeating Andreas Seppi or a struggling Donald Young. Nishikori is 3-0 against Dolgopolov and in better form, thus he’s the favorite.
The IW quarterfinalist Tsonga should defeat his countryman Paul-Henri Mathieu, a recently challenger finalist, in his first match. PHM opens with a struggling Santiago Giraldo. Tsonga would then be slated to face #17 seed Roberto Bautista Agut in round 3. RBA will be look to move to 17-5 this season with a win over recent challenger finalist Aljaz Bedene. Bedene opens with Roberto Carballes Baena. After two wins over RBA last season, Tsonga lost to him in Auckland this year. It should be a great match, but I give the Frenchman a slight edge to prevail.
Wawrinka’s quarter:
Stan Wawrinka is 15-3 on the season, and he’s set to face Andrey Kuznetsov just a few days after defeating him in Indian Wells. The Russian first has to defeat lucky loser Rogerio Dutra Silva. Though he was somewhat unimpressive in IW, the Swiss should dispatch either Sam Querrey or Adrian Mannarino in round 3. Mannarino opens with Illya Marchenko, and has a 1-0 h2h over Querrey. The higher ranked American will likely defeat the in form Frenchman on U.S. soil however. Wawrinka is unlikely to want to face Mannarino after losing to him in Miami last year, he’s 4-1 against Querrey.
John Isner vs. Nick Kyrgios is a highly anticipated third round matchup if it takes place. Isner won a pair of matches in IW and he should be better than his countryman Tim Smyczek, or Tommy Paul in round 2. Both are qualifiers and Smyczek just beat Paul in IW. Kyrgios is likely to face Marcos Baghdatis, presuming the veteran defeats qualifier Benjamin Becker in round 1. I have Baghdatis pulling an upset over Kyrgios in their first meeting. Nick was terrible last week in an opening match IW loss, Baghdatis is well rested, and his experienced and steady attacking play may drive Kyrgios mad. Isner over Baghdatis (6-0 h2h) is my pick for the third round. The American #1 Isner is also 2-0 against Kyrgios.
IW Semifinalist Rafael Nadal, who has never won the title in Miami, will open with Leonardo Mayer or Damir Dzumhur. Mayer is 4-1 in his last five matches but he shouldn’t trouble a seemingly in-form Rafa on hard courts. Nadal should improve to 14-5 on the season with wins over Mayer and the winner of Baker/Kukushkin or Thomaz Bellucci in round 3. I have Kukushkin slipping past a struggling Bellucci before falling to Nadal.
IW finalist Milos Raonic may not be entirely healthy after a great week in IW, but a painful final drubbing. The Canadian #1 opens with either Hyeon Chung (2-0 h2h vs. Kudla) or Denis Kudla and both are credible enough on hard courts to exploit an upset chance if Raonic is wobbly. Still I have Milos serving his way into a third round match with American favorite Jack Sock. Sock opens with serve and volleyer Sergiy Stakhovsky, or wild card Nicolas Jarry in round 2. With Sock just 6-5 on the season, and just 1-6 in his career against Raonic, Milos will be a heavy favorite to reach the round of 16. Since Sock upset Raonic in Memphis back in 2013, the Canadian has won six straight matches against him.
Zverev would need to upset Berdych, but the German young gun is rising and he could go as far as the quarterfinals. Fritz needs to upset Ferrer, but he has a great chance at least the roudn of 16, and possibly the quarters as well. Sock could exploit any weakness in the Raonic section to make a run to at least the round of 16, and Coric will look for his second career win against Murray. Grigor Dimitrov and Federico Delbonis could also make noise in the Murray section, as Delbonis did last week, though Murray is still the most likely to survive.
Predictions
Round of 16:
Djokovic d. Thiem (1-0 h2h)
Berdych d. Gasquet (6-7 h2h)
Federer d. Goffin (4-0 h2h)
Cilic d. Fritz
Nadal d. Raonic (6-1 h2h)
Isner d. Wawrinka (2-1 h2h)
Nishikori d. Tsonga (5-2 h2h)
Murray d. Monfils (4-2 h2h)
It’s hard to see Djokovic losing to Thiem, Berdych likely has a slight edge on Gasquet given the surface. Federer could be rusty, but he’s always handled Goffin well, Cilic should beat Fritz or Ferrer. Nadal could lose to Raonic, but his h2h is good, Isner should slip past Wawrinka if Stan plays like he did last week. Nishikori beat Tsonga this year in Melbourne, and Murray should have an edge in Miami over Monfils.
Quarters: Djokovic d. Berdych
Federer d. Cilic
Nadal d. Isner
Murray d. Nishikori
Djokovic should have no problem earning his second win of the year over Berdych, Federer hasn’t faced Cilic since losing to him at the 2014 US Open, but he still should be good enough given his 5-1 h2h. Nadal has never lost to Isner, and his IW showing gives him hope. Murray is vulnerable but he just beat Nishikori in Davis Cup play.
Semis: Djokovic d. Federer
Murray d. Nadal
Federer doesn’t have it in him to beat Djokovic at this point, Murray should be better on hard courts vs. Rafa if he can survive a murderers row of opponents.
Final: Djokovic d. Murray
Hard to see Djokovic losing a final as he’s won eight of them in a row. Look for him to take the Masters titles record with a victory in Miami.
Djokovic completes Miami/Indian Wells Double yet again, beats Murray in 2015 Miami Open Final Esam Taha for Tennis Atlantic
Photo Credit: Esam Taha
Novak Djokovic won his fifth Miami title, and completed his third career IW/Miami spring masters sweep with a 3 set win over Andy Murray on Sunday. Djokovic continues to be the world’s best player, and he has swept all of the elite level events thus far this season, the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Miami, as it seems that he is just about untouchable on hard courts at the moment.
Novak Djokovic d. Andy Murray 7-6(3) 4-6 6-0
After a couple of weeks of non-stop tennis action down in Miami, everyone was ready for the much-anticipated final between heavyweights Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. The pair have already clashed twice this year, as recent as in Indian Wells in a one-sided affair in favor of the world #1. Murray was looking to put in a better fight against an opponent he has not been able to figure out in recent times, losing 9 of their last 10 meetings. Meanwhile Novak was aiming to become the first player ever to win the Indian Wells – Miami combo 3 different times. Coming off a good performance vs Isner in the semifinal the Serb felt like he was peaking at the right time.
Murray came to play. The crowd barely settled in their seats as the world #4 went to work early, coming out with aggression on Novak’s serve forcing him to deuce right off the bat. It would end up being a tough hold for Novak but Andy had sent a clear message, he had come to play. Murray would hold at ease and once again the Serb would find himself in trouble on his service game. Murray was taking the initiative, stepping in whenever he saw an opportunity. It would pay off as Murray would be the first to draw blood as he broke to go up 2-1 early in the first. Djokovic despite looking a tad sloppy to start would not lose focus, but rather elevate his game to break right back the very following game. Novak realized this wasn’t going to be a repeat of Indian Wells, he needed to bring his A game. At 2-3 Murray would win a couple of incredible points to engaging the crowd early on, there was a lot of positive language from the Andy. He was locked in, somehow, ripping a backhand winner off a tough return from Novak to hold and square things up at 3-3. Just when it seemed both players were kicking it into top gear Novak would make 4 UEs on the trot to gift Murray his 2nd break of the set.
Murray would politely exchange gifts with Novak as he committed a few unforced of his own to give away his service game and tie things up at 4-4. It seemed like there was one side of the court affecting both players, the sun appeared to be right in their line of sight. It would be more apparent as Novak easily held while serving from the other side to go up 5-4. Murray would show little nerves to return the favor and take the set to 5-5. Despite a brilliant cross-court return winner from Andy to start the game Novak would keep his calm and hold to put the pressure back on Murray at 5-6. Murray serving with the sun in his eye would feel the pressure falling in a 0-30 hole. A splendid drop shot, a beautiful cross court backhand winner to win a long rally and Murray gets it right back to 30-30 as the crowd roared him on. As he looked set to force the tiebreak a brutal net cord would send it to deuce. Murray would survive the mini-battle as Novak left the drop shot short to force the tiebreak. Murray would not have his best tiebreak, committing a couple of bad errors to gift Novak a couple of minibreaks. Novak would get one of them back thanks to a Novak DF but he’d end the tiebreak with 3 balls straight into the net to lose the tiebreak and 1st set 6-7 (3). It was a tough way to lose the set considering Andy had slightly outplayed Novak for most of it.
Murray needed to reset and put that 1st behind him, and that would be exactly what he would do to start off the 2nd as he held with ease. At 1-1 Andy would find himself in a 0-30 hole as he tried the drop shot lob combo with Novak underestimating the Serb’s speed. A sloppy overhead from Murray, which would prove to be the first of many for both players, would set up a couple of breakpoints for Novak. The Scot would battle back and save the breakpoint with an ace as he let out a big fist pump. Novak stared at his racket as he knew he let Murray off the hook with an unforced error on a return off a weak Murray 2nd serve, that was the 4th BP Murray saved that game. “COME ON!” Murray shouted and motioned to the crowd as he fired two big serves to hold and escape a dangerous game. The pendulum would quickly swing the other way as a DF from Novak set up a break point for Murray. However Andy would bail out the defending champion with a couple of UE to level things up at 2-2. The finalists would trade holds, Novak sealing his with a difficult DTL backhand winner, to which the “Nole, Nole” chants broke out in the crowd. A somewhat sloppy set would continue with more and more UEs from both players, including an awful display of overhead misses. Still there were no breaks as Novak came out to serve to stay in the set at 4-5 in the 2nd. The sloppiness would continue from the Serb quickly falling behind 0-30 with the pressure mounting. Andy 2 point away from claiming the 2nd, hit a winner off a Novak overhead, a shot he has been particularly struggling with all afternoon, to set up 3 set points. Murray would claim the 2nd in emphatic fashion as he punished a weak Novak 2nd serve with a cross court backhand winner. The frustration would visibly get to Novak as he snatched a towel from a flinching ball boy while yelling at his box, invoking a code violation warning. It wasn’t a good look for the Serb but he would later apologize for the incident on his facebook page.
The crowd was excited, the 2015 Miami Open final was going the distance. Despite Murray having the mental edge given how things ended the previous set, he didn’t start off the 3rd like he had it. Murray would have not 1, not 2, but 3 chances to put away an overhead but Novak would deny him to set up break points. Andy would save one but then stick the backhand right into the net to go down a break right off the bat in the decider. He would look to make amends quickly pushing the Serb to deuce with aggressive play. Novak would have to pull off an incredible play to consolidate as he flicked a ball that was practically behind him to take the point. It seemed like Andy put all he had into that game, what would follow would not be pretty. The Scot showed plenty of negative body language and moving gingerly between points, summing it up with a double fault to face triple break point. Out of nowhere the Scot would bring himself back into it saving all 3 breakpoints including a perfectly placed DTL backhand winner, bringing the crowd out of their seats. Another Murray missed overhead, the theme of the match, would setup a 6th break chance for Novak in that game. Novak would not let 6 opportunities pass him by, converting the 6th to put one hand on the trophy as he went up 2 breaks, 3-0 in the decider.
There wasn’t much fight left in Murray following that, he was broken again to give the Serb a chance to serve out the bagel. The world #1 would make no mistake as he closed out the 3rd set to claim his 5th Miami Open title 7-6(3) 4-6 6-0. It was an anticlimactic finish to a final which was dramatic yet subpar in terms of quality. Djokovic became the first player ever to win the Indian Wells – Miami duo 3 separate times.
Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis won the WTA doubles final over Makarova/Vesnina, just like Djokovic, they completed their own Indian Wells/Miami double as they swept the spring masters events.
It was a pleasure to provide complete coverage of the 2015 Miami Open here at Tennis Atlantic, we greatly enjoyed having our guest writer Esam Taha on site in Miami covering all the action, and want to congratulate him on the awesome job he did, we look forward to bringing you credentialed on-site coverage from Miami next year-The Editors
Djokovic and Murray setup @MiamiOpenTennis ATP final on Friday, Serena wins WTA title on Saturday Esam Taha for Tennis Atlantic
Photo Credit: Esam Taha
On Friday Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray setup their second straight head-to-head showdown for a Masters title with wins over John Isner and Tomas Berdych, while Serena took out Carla Suarez Navarro for yet another WTA title in a blowout final.
Friday
Novak Djokovic d. John Isner 7-6(3) 6-2
Novak was not having his best tournament in terms of performance entering the semifinal clash with John Isner. There was a sense that he needed a solid showing here going into the final. The good news for Djokovic was that he had just beaten Isner in Indian Wells a couple of weeks ago in straight sets. Having said that Isner was playing much better now and the Serb wasn’t looking as sharp. Isner so far has had an impressive run down in Miami, beating Dimitrov, Raonic, and Nishikori back to back to back. Big John has been serving absolutely lights out and was full of confidence going into his clash with the world #1.
The crowd gathered for the highly anticipated night session semifinal as the two semifinalists started their pre-game warmup. Right off the bat Djokovic looked much more focused than he did all tournament with a solid service game to kick things off. It seemed like Isner would easily hold as well going up 40-0, however Novak would fight back to deuce things up. Early on Djokovic was getting his racket on most of Isner’s serve, his superior returning skills were on full display. Isner would hit a sweet volley to avoid a breakpoint and eventually blast an ace down the T to hold after the mini-battle. Isner’s forehand looked powerful early on, he went all out on it on virtually every shot. He’d get a nice return winner but follow that with a forehand to the bottom of the net Novak held to take us to 1-2 in the 1st. As much heat Isner packed in that forehand, once the rally got going the gap in consistency between the 2 would show itself.
Novak’s defense and returning were top notch, as they need to be when playing John, on one occasion he’d force the latter to hit 3 overheads on a single point. The Serb would force deuce again on Isner’s serve but the big server would find a way out without facing breakpoint. Meanwhile the world #1 was getting little resistance from Isner on his service game, the Serb was serving pretty well himself. At 2-3 both players would really hit their stride with easy holds to take us to 3-4 in the 1st. One issue with Isner up to that point was his 1st serve percentage, which was hovering around 60%. That won’t cut it against the best returner in the game. Isner would follow a couple of bad misses with back to back aces down the T to level things at 4-4 as Novak just shook his head at the monster serves. The roles would be revered the next game. Isner would finally put some pressure on Novak’s serve following a long baseline exchange which the American somehow won coupled with an inside out return winner, much to the crowd’s delight. Novak would then give Isner a taste of his own medicine firing back to back aces to dig out of the 0-30 hole and hold. With Isner under some pressure serving at 4-5, he’d show zero nerves as he blasted a forehand winner followed by a 136 MPH heater down the T. Novak would continue his good serving to go up 6-5, the Serb had 5 aces to Isner’s 6 thus far. After Isner goes up 40-0 he would tighten up falling all the way back to face the first break point of the match. Big John would show good composure as he hit a clutch overhead followed by a 128 MPH well-placed ace to force a tiebreak.
Isner played well until the first set tiebreak (photo credit: Esam Taha)
Despite the missed opportunity the world #1 was determined, immediately jumping on Isner’s 2nd serve to go up a mini-break. It was all Novak in that tiebreak, Isner probably wished he gotten more 1st serves in during that TB as Serb had a beat on the American’s kicker. With a little over an hour in the books, Novak stroked the cross court backhand winner to claim the 1st set 7-6(3).
Djokovic brimmed with confidence going into the 2nd set, forcing triple breakpoint early on at 1-1. The Serb was really starting to look unplayable as he broke with ease, the American had a mountain to climb down a set and break. One big adjustment Isner had to adapt to is Novak’s superior serving compared to Nishikori in the quarterfinal matchup. The world #1 played like a world #1 that 2nd set, he consolidated with ease before forcing another double break point already up 3-1. A low biting slice would be almost impossible for Isner to get down to and slice back, the Serb was now in total control up a couple of breaks at 4-1. Novak was also out-aceing Isner 10-8, pretty much summed up how the match had gone.
Djokovic did well handling the Isner serve (photo credit: Esam Taha)
Djokovic would bring the crowd to their feet as he was on full stretch to retrieve an inside out forehand before passing John with ease. Novak was the definition of locked in. At 5-2 Djokovic would have no trouble serving out the match to a huge ovation from the crowd. This was exactly the sort of performance he needed going into the final given how he had played up to that point.
Andy Murray continued his good run of play on his home court effectively, as he beat Tomas Berdych yet again 4 and 4. Murray broke early in the first at both 1-0, a break he couldn’t consolidate, and 1-1, and after that he cruised through the first set without facing another break point the rest of the set. Set 2 was groundhog day, as just like set 1, Murray broke for 1-0, got broken back, and then broke again for 2-1, and held his serve the rest of the way without facing another break point. In the final game of the match, he held serve from 0-30 to take it on his lone match point. Statline wise, Murray’s 70% first serve number and 80% of first serve points won were the main marker as to why he was too difficult to beat, as Berdych failed to do enough on his opponents serve to cause trouble, while Murray was a superior returner on his opponents serve.
After Murray was blown out by Djokovic in Indian Wells, it’s going to be a tough task to upset him in Miami, but we’ll see what happens on Sunday.
Makarova/Vesnina and Hingis/Mirza setup the WTA doubles final with routine wins in the doubles semifinals over Hlavackova/Hradecka, and Babos/Mladenovic respectively.
From the time she stepped on court, Carla Suarez Navarro lacked both the belief, and the raw ability needed to beat an in-form Serena Williams, and thusly Serena entirely dominated proceedings and won in less than a hour. CSN only won 5 points in the second set and Serena has yet to lose a match this season, as the world number 1 is again dominating the WTA tour. The 33 year old Williams has won 8 WTA Miami titles and has won the title 3 times in a row at the Crandon Park Tennis Center. CSN can still be pleased with her week however as she will enter the top 10.
In a burgeoning ATP doubles rivalry, the veteran Bryan brothers beat younger upstarts Jack Sock and Vasek Pospisil to win their fourth Miami title, and an incredible 105th title overall (33 Masters titles). The Bryans dominated on serve in the first set but they would lose control of the match in the second set, and were forced into a entertaining third set tiebreak to decide the winner. In their Indian Wells meeting, it was Sock and Pospisil who came out on top, but the Bryans would win this time by the slightest of margins, as experience beat youth on the day.
On Sunday, along with the Djokovic-Murray match, Hingis/Mirza will seek to continue their doubles success against Makarova/Vesnina.
Djokovic edges Ferrer, Isner shocks Nishikori Miami Open Thursday Recap Esam Taha for Tennis Atlantic
Photo Credit: Esam Taha
The two men’s quarterfinal matches on Thursday in Miami drew plenty of attention, as the world number 1 Novak Djokovic advanced, and John Isner posted his best result of the season with a huge upset over Kei Nishikori.
Novak Djokovic d. David Ferrer 7-5 7-5
The Miami crowd was treated to a heavyweight matchup in the Miami Open Quarterfinal night session. The world #1 had had quite the bumpy ride so far including a comeback effort against Dolgopolov in the previous round. Novak has won his last 7 meetings with Ferrer, his last loss dating back to the 2011 ATP WTF. The Serb was favorited going into this matchup but it wasn’t to expect to be a cakewalk especially with the way he’s been playing in Miami. Meanwhile David Ferrer hasn’t dropped a set so far in the tournament, knocking out Delbonis, Rosol, and Simon in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rounds respectively. Ferrer is having an excellent season so far only losing 2 matches and already with 3 titles under his belt, it was also his 33rd birthday today.
Ferrer would kick off proceedings with a solid hold, he looked focused and ready for the challenge with the way he was stroking the ball early. Meanwhile Djokovic looked a bit sloppy to start things off, quickly falling to a 0-40 hole on his serve. A double fault later and all of the sudden the Serb would find himself down a break with Ferrer serving to take a 3-0 lead. The Serb’s returns looked uncharacteristically tame on center court, putting little pressure on David’s serve. Just like that the world #1 would find himself serving out of a 0-3 hole. Novak would start to slowly get into the game as he stroked a beautiful looking DTL backhand winner to finally get on the board. Ferrer was defending with purpose, forcing Novak to hit that one extra shot. The Serb missed a volley as Ferrer held and went up 4-1. Once again, the frustration seemed to be getting the best of the defending champion, shades of the Dolgo match.
Ferrer started well (photo credit: Esam Taha)
Those in the Miami crowd that enjoy long rallies and endless groundstrokes were getting their money’s worth, both players seemed content with playing from the baseline up to that point. This game became more and more crucial as it kept swinging back and forth at deuce, Ferrer looked for the double break lead while Novak looked to get even on serve. Ferrer would splendidly save a breakpoint with a slick half volley pick up to the crowd’s delight. Novak however was the slight aggressor in that game and eventually came out with break after a grueling game. He’d hold to square things up at 4-4 in the 1st. Even though Djokovic was starting to play better he was still letting frustration get to him as he let out a rather audible scream when he missed a DTL forehand. Both players would hold to take the set to 5-5, however Ferrer was starting to rack up the UEs. That would carry on to a crucial service game as he sent 3 forehands long to get broken after going up 40-15, a backbreaker for the Spaniard. Novak would easily hold to take the 1st set 7-5, it was a poor end to the set from David.
Photo Credit: Esam Taha
Ferrer seemed to shake off that disappointing conclusion of the opening set as he came out firing with a convincing hold. Novak would follow that with a solid hold of his own, showing his soft hands with a perfectly executed half volley. Ferrer would bring the crowd to their feet the next game with an incredible display of reflexes at the net, which Novak acknowledged as well. It all went downhill from there for the Spaniard as he committed back to back double faults to get broken early in the 2nd. The Serb was now controlling court position, doing a better job of stepping up and punishing Ferrer’s conservative court positioning. At 1-3 Ferrer had to regain his composure to avoid finding himself staring at a double break deficit. After getting it to 30-30 Djokovic bailed the world #7 out with a couple of FH UEs. Both players would continue to trade holds but Ferrer wasn’t putting any pressure of Novak’s serve. At 3-5 Ferrer felt some pressure as he served to stay in the match. A brutal netcord would help Novak jump up 0-30 in the game. Ferrer battled back to 30-30 while a cheeky drop shot from Novak just missed to take the set to 5-4.
Novak would have to do the dirty work himself. The world #1 showed some nerves as he double faulted to go 30-30. Ferrer then overcooks a forehand to setup a match point for Novak. The Serb would get tight once again sending the backhand to the bottom of the net. The crowd would go ballistic as an incredible rally ended with Ferrer on top to break and even things up at 5-5 after facing match-point. The Serb would bounce back quickly breaking David right back as the drama intensified. This time Novak would quickly jump to 30-0 and not look back, closing the set out to claim the match 7-5 7-5. The defending champion booked himself a spot in the semifinal to face big John Isner, who’s been on a tear beating Dimitrov, Raonic, and Nishikori back to back to back.
Isner outhits Nishikori, Suarez Navarro, Serena setup WTA final
John Isner scored his second top 10 win of the week as he took out the favorite Kei Nishikori 6-4 6-3 to reach the semis in Miami, his best result of the 2015 season. The scoreline is a bit misleading, as Isner took control of the match early on, and also broke early in the second set. Nishikori failed to challenge him as a returner, and Isner won a remarkable number of return points himself, in fact putting up one of the best return performances of his career, against a quality ballstriker in Nishikori. Nishikori had dominated all of his opponents in the previous tournament matches, but today he no answer for the brute force and excellent shot placement that Isner put together. Nishikori thought he played well per his post-match presser, but Isner put up a textbook performance for a slow moving big server.
Carla Suarez Navarro pulled off a remarkable feat as she upset Andrea Petkovic 6-3 6-3 to reach her first ever Premier level final. It was a sloppy match with players putting up a large number of errors, but in the end CSN continues to improve and cement herself as a top 10 player. Serena Williams battled past Simona Halep to complete the WTA final lineup 6-2 4-6 7-5. Williams power proved too much for defensively oriented Halep, and she could have taken the match in straight sets perhaps, but was forced into a long third set.
Pospisil/Sock, Bryans will star in the doubles final
Vasek Pospisil/Jack Sock and the Bryan Brothers will face off in the ATP doubles final. Vasek and Jack beat Melo/Soares 6-4 3-6 10-7 and Bob and Mike Bryan beat Isner and Querrey 7-6 7-5.
Serena wins number 700 to reach Miami Open quarterfinals, Murray staves off challenge from Thiem Steen Kirby, Tennis Atlantic
Serena Williams won a topsy-turvy encounter over in-form German Sabine Lisicki on Wednesday in Miami, as the wrorld number booked her place in the semifinals 7-6(4) 1-6 6-3. Serena did well win a nervy first set, and it was a good thing she survived the tiebreak, because Lisicki caught fire in the second set, bludgeoning Serena into a third set. Serena would recover from her daze and pull it out in the third however for her 700th WTA match win. A win that puts her behind just seven WTA greats on the all-time list, including Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert and Steffi Graf.
Simona Halep was also a winner on the day as she beat the unseeded Sloane Stephens 6-1 7-5. Stephens pressured in the opening game but quickly fell away in the first set, and in the second she fought back from a break down to extend the set into extra innings, but Halep was the superior player and her class finally shown through to break and hold her serve 7-5.
Simona Halep
On the men’s side Dominic Thiem played a great opening set of tennis against Andy Murray, but the more experienced and higher ranked Scot would dominate the rest of the match. Thiem was firing winners and was stiff on his serve, but Murray winning over 80% of his first serve points in the match, and recovered from the disappointment of dropping the opening set to break early in the second, and though he lost that break as the match went to 3-6 4-4, he would break again to take the second set 6-4, and then he dashed the hopes of a wilted Thiem 6-1 in the third for a 3-6 6-4 6-1 victory.
Tomas Berdych dealt with hot patches of play from Juan Monaco in the late match, and won 6-3 6-4. Berdych found himself bothered by a time violation in the first set and after going 4-2 up, got broken. However, Monaco failed to consolidate, and after a very long game at 3-4, Berdych broke again and served out the set to love. In set two, the situation was somewhat similar, Monaco would come up with some great shots, showcasing superior movement, but Berdych had a larger arsenal weaponry wise, and he served just well enough to get the win, scoring a late break, and again serving out the set, and this time the match, to love at 5-4.
Berdych
Quisner upset Rojer/Tecau 6-3 6-4, as John Isner has had a fantastic week in Miami, and the Bryans dealt with Anderson/Chardy 6-4 4-6 10-6. In WTA doubles, Hlavackova/Hradecka beat Niculescu/Panova 6-3 7-5, and Makarova/Vesnina sent Garcia/Srebotnik packing 6-4 3-6 10-4.
On Thursday, the Miami Open will have a very similar schedule of matches as Wednesday, as the two men’s quarterfinals remaining are Nishikori-Isner and Djokovic-Ferrer, and the WTA semifinals will be Suarez-Navarro vs. Petkovic and Williams vs. Halep.
(Photo Credit: Esam Taha)
Melo/Soares will play Pospisil/Sock in an exciting doubles match, and the Bryans will have an all-American battle with Quisner.
Keep checking Tennis Atlantic for all the exciting updates from Miami, all the way until the final match is completed!
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