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Nadal vs Sock  |  Nishikori vs Fognini

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• DAY 8 PREVIEW: The Miami Open, presented by Itau, quarter-finals in the bottom half of the draw on Wednesday is led by No. 2 seed and last year’s finalist Kei Nishikori, along with four-time runner-up No. 5 seed Rafael Nadal. The other two players making their first Miami Open quarter-final appearance are No. 13 seed Jack Sock and unseeded Fabio Fognini.

In the first quarter-final, Nishikori looks for his third win in as many meetings against Fognini, who is the first Italian to reach the quarters in Miami since Diego Nargiso in 1992 (l. to Courier). Nishikori won the first meeting in the 1R at the 2011 Australian Open in four sets and last year prevailed 7-5 in the third set in the 2R at ATP Masters 1000 Madrid. This is Fognini’s third career ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final, the first since 2014 Cincinnati (l. to Raonic). His best ATP Masters 1000 result came in 2013 Monte-Carlo where he reached the SFs (l. to Djokovic). Fognini is looking for his first Top 5 win since defeating No. 4 Nadal in the 3R at 2015 Barcelona. The 29-year-old Italian is trying to become the first unseeded player to reach the semi-finals here since qualifier Guillermo Canas advanced to the final in 2007 (l. to Djokovic). Nishikori, who is in pursuit of his first ATP Masters 1000 title, has won 15 of his past 17 matches in Miami since 2014 after going 5-4 in his first four appearances. Nishikori is appearing in his fourth straight quarter-final.and he’s trying to reach his third semi-final in Miami (2014 SF, 2016 Final) and 11th overall ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.

In the night session, Nadal brings a 2-0 record against Sock, having won both previous meetings in 2015, at Roland Garros (4R) in four sets and Beijing (QF) in three sets. Nadal is making his ninth Miami quarter-final appearance in 13 attempts and he’s played this tournament the most without winning the title. Nadal had a 16-match winning streak against Americans snapped with his Acapulco final loss to Sam Querrey on March 4. Sock is making his fourth straight quarter-final showing in an ATP Masters 1000 tournament going back to Shanghai and Paris last season. In his last tournament Sock advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final in Indian Wells (l. to eventual champion Federer). He comes in with an 18-3 match record on the season and he has beaten four of his last five Top 10 opponents going back to the 2016 US Open (d. No. 9 Cilic in 3R)..He is trying to become the first American to reach the semi-finals here since John Isner two years ago (l. to Djokovic). Sock is also in the doubles semi-finals (w/Monroe).

NO. 1 IN EMIRATES ATP DOUBLES RANKING AT STAKE: The No. 1 position in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings will change hands next Monday with Henri Kontinen of Finland or Bob and Mike Bryan taking over.from Nicolas Mahut. The Frenchman has held No. 1 every week since July 11, 2016. He won last year’s Miami title with Pierre-Hugues Herbert but they withdrew from their 2R match due to Herbert’s leg injury. Kontinen, who lost in the 2R (w/Peers), will become the first Finnish player to rank No. 1 unless the Bryan brothers win their fifth Miami title (2007-08, 2014-15). They play in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

There is unpredictable, and then there is Nick Kyrgios.

The enigmatic 21-year-old Australian is a master of the mysterious when hitting second serves, keeping opponents off balance with his massive range of speed and spin. Sometimes it’s an 83 mph kicking mule that deceptively comes at you slow, but then leaps off the court up over your head. Other times it’s a 129 mph fastball that whizzes right by you for an ace. It’s unreadable, often unhittable and unrelenting in the clutch.

Kyrgios takes the standard guidelines for hitting second serves on board, and then proceeds to throw them out the window. He is not the first player to have such a prolific mix of second-serve deliveries, but he is certainly one of the best at executing it on the biggest stages in the most important moments.

The ATP Stats LEADERBOARDS, powered by the Infosys Information Platform, identifies that Kyrgios has the third best Serve Rating on the ATP World Tour during the past 52 weeks against Top 10 opponents, with a 288.7 rating. The 6’4″ (193cm) Aussie is sixth best on tour in the past 52 weeks against all opponents with second-serve points won, at 55.4 per cent. The mix is the primary reason. He gives you the kitchen sink with his second serve.

Kyrgios recently scored back-to-back wins against World No. 2 Novak Djokovic at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acalpulco and at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Kyrgios’ second serve was simply spectacular.

He won an impressive 62 per cent (29/47) of his second-serve points combined in both matches against one of the best returners in the game. Kyrgios’ serve was not broken in either match, and he faced only one break point in 23 service games.

Second-Serve Points Won Against Novak Djokovic

• Acapulco 75% (15/20)

• Indian Wells 52% (14/27)

In their Indian Wells round of 16 clash, Kyrgios had a substantial 46 mph difference between his slowest second serve and his fastest. To make things even more mind blowing, the two extremes happened one after the other late in the second set, helping him seal the match.

With Kyrgios serving at 5-6, 40/30 in the second set, he hit an 83 mph change-up out wide in the ad court that Djokovic barely made contact with above his head with his reaching backhand return.

Kyrgios’ next second serve came at 3/2 in the tie-break – a blistering 126 mph ace right down the middle. Djokovic split-step to cover that direction, but the slicing, snarling delivery was still well outside his reach.

Djokovic’s first-serve average speed for the match was 115 mph. Kyrgios hit 11 second serves that were faster than that. Djokovic’s fastest first serve was 128 mph. Kyrgios hit one second serve faster – a 129 mph bomb down the middle of the ad court at 1-2, 40/0 in the second set.

Kyrgios’ second serve did yield four double faults, but it also notched up three of his 14 aces. Kyrgios was lights out in this area during their Acapulco match, hitting 25 aces, while yielding just one double fault.

Kyrgios is not simply bending the traditional second-serve rules of our game. He is breaking them in half.

#NextGenATP star Alexander Zverev knocked out top seed Stan Wawrinka on Tuesday at the Miami Open presented by Itau to advance to his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final. The 19-year-old Zverev came back from a set down and ran away with the fourth-round contest, winning 12 of the final 15 games to claim victory 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 in one hour and 44 minutes.

“I had to be aggressive. I felt like he was the one controlling all the points all the time, so I had to change that. It worked out well for me. Happy to be in the quarter-finals now. Hopefully I can play as great as I did today,” Zverev said.

The German was nearly untouchable on his serve. He saved four of five break points and won almost 75 per cent of his service points, including 68 per cent of his second-serve offerings. Zverev also broke Wawrinka five times – all in the last two sets.

 Watch Full Match Replays

He improves to 2-0 against Wawrinka in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry. Zverev won their first contest last September for his maiden title at the St. Petersburg Open. “Both times I played him I played [with] very high confidence and I played very well,” Zverev said. “I think we both have one of the best backhands on tour, both of us, so that maybe helps me a little bit. He likes to use that corner a lot on the opponent.”

For a berth in his first Masters 1000 semi-final, Zverev will face Aussie Nick Kyrgios, who hit 12 aces to beat Belgian David Goffin 7-6(5), 6-3 in one hour and 37 minutes. Kyrgios improves to 2-0 against Goffin in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, having also beaten the right-hander in the Tokyo final last year.

The 21-year-old Kyrgios saved both break points faced and broke the 26-year-old right-hander once. Goffin, serving at 1-2 in the second set, had erased four break points in the game but netted a forehand on the fifth break chance to give Kyrgios a 3-1 lead. The game lasted 26 points and more than 13 minutes.

Kyrgios’ quarter-final against Zverev will be a rematch of their third-round contest at the BNP Paribas Open earlier this month. Kyrgios took that FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting, their first, 6-3, 6-4.

The opportunity marks quite the turnaround for Zverev, who was inches away from losing on Monday and heading home. The 6’6″ right-hander had to save three match points against American John Isner to escape to the fourth round. “I had to use the opportunity. I knew I got a second chance in this tournament, so I’m really happy that I used it,” Zverev said.

Wawrinka had been in top form before their fourth-round showdown. The Swiss right-hander hadn’t dropped a set in South Florida and was coming off his maiden final run at the BNP Paribas Open last week. “One bad game to start the second set and then it was tough for me,” Wawrinka said. “I completely went down physically and mentally, and also my tennis was completely out. I had no more gas.”

Roger Federer stayed perfect at the Miami Open presented by Itau on Tuesday, persevering through a back-and-forth and gritty fourth-round contest against Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(5), 7-6(4). The Swiss right-hander needed nearly two hours to improve to 6-0 against the Spaniard in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, and afterward likened his recovery to going clubbing.

“I think coming out of a brutal match and then feeling fit like a fiddle in the morning, it’s like when you go clubbing,” said the 35-year-old Federer. “Same thing. You know, you don’t feel the same when you’re older. (Laughter.) It’s a good example because everybody knows that feeling. Not that I’ve ever — you know?”

Federer reaches his second consecutive ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final, where he’ll face 10th seed Tomas Berdych, who dismissed Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 7-5 on Tuesday afternoon. Federer leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 17-6, including a straight-sets win earlier this year at the Australian Open.

 Watch Full Match Replays

Nothing came easy for Federer on Tuesday, though. The Swiss was made to labour throughout his sixth meeting with Bautista Agut, who saved eight of 10 break points and broke Federer once during their Round of 16 battle. Federer has now been broken only twice during his three Miami matches.

“I felt good overall. It was a different kind of match,” said Federer. “It wasn’t the big-serving match where you’re only going to see so many looks, so when you miss chances you always feel a bit frustrated sometimes. That’s where you got to keep a positive mindset and make the right plays.

“I thought Roberto did a good job of making shots, staying offensive when he could, fending off a lot of good shots that I hit. Then it was tough. The sun was coming from the side in the beginning so it’s hard to chase the lines. At the end I’m very happy and pleased that I got it done in straight sets.”

The World No. 6 sought to be aggressive from the get-go against Bautista Agut, attacking the net often and trying to jolt the 14th seed out of his comfort zone. Federer started by breezing through his service games, especially dominating with his first serve. The fourth seed would win 89 per cent of his first-serve points for the match.

But Federer struggled to land his first serve at 4-4, and Bautista Agut took advantage. Seeing another second serve, the 28 year old stepped into a backhand up the line and broke for a chance to serve out the set. Nerves would get the best of the Spaniard during the 10th game, though, as Federer broke to love when Bautista Agut double faulted.

Federer struck a forehand pass to escape in the first-set tie-break. To start the second set, it looked as if Federer would start to pull away. He broke in the opening game but Bautista Agut broke right back, and to a second tie-break they headed, where Federer solidified his dominance in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, having won all 14 sets they’ve played, dating back to the 2014 US Open.