A trio of #NextGenATP Americans celebrated their first wins at the Miami Open presented by Itau on Wednesday. Taylor Fritz beat Czech Adam Pavlasek 6-2, 6-3 on Stadium Court. Fritz lost only three points on his first serve (17/20) in the 67-minute opener.

The 19-year-old right-hander will face 26^th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second round. Fritz, the 2016 ATP Star Of Tomorrow presented by Emirates, will try to build off his third-round showing last week at the BNP Paribas Open, during which he earned his first Top 10 win against then-No. 7 Marin Cilic in the second round.

Twenty-year-old Jared Donaldson came back to erase three match points and advance past Brit Kyle Edmund 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 in two hours and 23 minutes. Donaldson was serving 0/40, 4-5 in the second set but won three consecutive points and eventually took the set to even the match.

In the decider, Donaldson cruised, breaking the 22-year-old Edmund twice and never facing a break point. The win marks Donaldson’s third in as many days after he qualified for the Masters 1000 tournament. The Rhode Island native will next meet 28^th seed Mischa Zverev of Germany.

Fellow qualifier Ernesto Escobedo also weathered a three-set contest to beat World No. 43 Daniel Evans 7-5, 0-6, 6-3. Escobedo saved both break points faced in the third set and will face 25^th seed Fernando Verdasco in the second round.

In other action, South African Kevin Anderson set-up a second-round contest with No. 2 seed Kei Nishikori after beating Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic 6-2, 7-5. Nishikori leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-1, but Anderson won their last meeting, at the 2015 Shanghai Rolex Masters.

Tommy Haas continued his comeback tour but came up just short. The 38-year-old Haas lost to Czech Jiri Vesely 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5 in two hours and 36 minutes. Haas falls to 0-3 on the year, after retiring from his first-round match at the Australian Open and losing in the first round of the Delray Beach Open.

“The mindset obviously was to go out there, compete as hard as I can, and try to win the match, just like every other time, and I came close. It’s one of those matches, again, this is only my third match of the year, so the year has been very different for me from a professional athlete point of view,” Haas said. “It’s frustrating to lose those kinds of matches. I would love to get over the hump. At the same time, everyone is out there to compete, and it came down to a few points here and there.”

You’ve probably seen mosquitoes swarm players or moths hop on the court at night. But a giant iguana sitting on a scoreboard and refusing to budge during an ATP World Tour match?

Miami Open fans probably couldn’t believe what they were seeing on Wednesday evening as Tommy Haas and Jiri Vesely battled on Court 1 at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament. The score was tied 3-3 in the third set, with Haas set to serve during the first-round match, when an iguana climbed to the top of a baseline scoreboard and rested at the best seat in the stadium.

Fans, players and the chair umpire immediately noticed the iguana as the creature lingered. “It’s a big one,” the umpire said.

Officials tried to shoo the reptile away with a towel, but the iguana had worked hard for that spot and wasn’t about to saunter away at the first time of asking.

There was tennis to be played, however, so the chair umpire told Vesely that they were going to resume play, even with the iguana sitting on the scoreboard. “If it’s not moving and it’s just like that, we’re going to try and play,” he said. 

But Vesely, who was set to return Haas’ serve from the iguana’s side of the court, refused. “I cannot concentrate,” Vesely said.

“It’s not a dangerous animal,” the umpire pleaded.

But Vesely, like the iguana, wasn’t budging, and it was clear: This match was on the iguana’s time.

Haas, like the fans who were laughing and cheering, had fun with the creature. The ATP World Tour veteran walked over to the lizard and snapped a selfie with him to more cheers from the crowd.

“Maybe the iguana got the note that this is most likely the last time I’m playing here, and he wanted to say ‘Hi’ and take a peek or something,” said the 38-year-old Haas, who has said this season will be his last. “I don’t know, but it was pretty cool. Of that size, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that. I don’t know where he came from and why he wanted to come out on Court 1 and kind of say hello to everyone.”

Haas, who is in his 21^st year on tour, has had a career full of memorable moments, but he’ll likely remember the day the iguana interrupted his match. “It was fun. I thought that’s an interesting picture to take,” he said. “I don’t think it’ll ever happen again, to be honest, especially in my career, because it’s almost over anyway. It’s nice for him to stop by. Good-looking iguana.”

Eventually, though, the iguana’s fun in the sun ended, but not before a victory lap. The reptile pranced around and across the court, sprinting to the opposite baseline as the fans cheered the lizard’s courage. Officials eventually carefully carried the iguana away from the court, a towel wrapped around the Miami Open’s most persistent fan.

It’s not the first time a reptile has interrupted play. At an ATP Challenger Tour event in Sarasota last year, a snake slithered on court during match point.

The Miami Open presented by Itau has always been special for Kevin Anderson. The South African made quite the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 debut at the tournament in 2008. A year removed from a successful collegiate career at the University of Illinois, the South African qualified for the main draw and stunned reigning Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in the second round. Three years later at Crandon Park, Anderson reached his first Masters 1000 quarter-final, this time coming up short against Djokovic.

As he makes his return to Miami this week, the 30-year-old Anderson looks back on his win over Djokovic and shares who he thinks is the toughest competitor in Masters 1000 history.

What makes the ATP Word Tour Masters 1000 tournaments special?
First of all, you have a full playing field, pretty much every single top player is here… Indian Wells and Miami, with the bigger draw, really showcase pretty much the Grand Slam-level of field in a more condensed format. The tournament goes a little quicker. From the other side, Paris, you have a much smaller draw, you have some incredible matches from early on in the tournament. 

Which is your favourite Masters 1000 tournament?
They’re all really special in their own way. I must say Indian Wells is one of my favourites. I love the surrounding areas. I’ve always been a big fan of the mountains and I usually try to hike a little bit. But also just how much they’ve put into the facilities, it’s quite to special to play at. Each court feels like a little grandstand court, even if it’s grandstand 8 with Hawk-Eye. It’s almost as close as you can get to a Grand Slam. 

Of the Masters 1000 matches you’ve played, which one stands out?
One of them I remember very well is from a long time ago when I beat Djokovic in Miami in 2008. Obviously I’ve played a lot of matches since then, but I was just out of college the year before and playing the Australian Open champion that year, there was a lot of people watching. That was just very exciting for me. 

Which player would you consider to be the toughest competitor in Masters 1000 history?
I think what’s really been incredible in terms of this crop of players, the top guys, as opposed to a decade or even two decades ago is how much importance and consistency they’ve placed on these Masters 1000 events. If you look at all the top guys who’ve done well – Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and Murray as well – it’s really crazy to see how much emphasis and how well they perform. Novak is one title away in Cincinnati from winning all of them so he’s done an incredible job the last few years. 

What’s your favourite Masters 1000 court to play on?
Rome, Court 1 there with the statues (Stadio Pietrangeli). I’ve played a doubles match there, not singles, but if you play a local Italian there, it would be a pretty interesting match.  

Which Masters 1000 would you most want to win and why?
I think Miami. It’s got a very long history. I’ve been living in Florida for the last few years. I go down there and train a little bit, but I’d be happy with any of them.