Quarter-final action kicks off on Wednesday at the Miami Open presented by Itau and the two singles matches on the roster provide markedly different forms of entertainment. Two established veterans square off in the day session and a pair of rising stars will battle at night, while a rain-delayed fourth-round clash between Roger Federer and Daniil Medvedev is also on the schedule.

Who will win the latest @FedEx #ATP Head2Head clash between these two?

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) March 27, 2019

Seventh seed and defending champion John Isner looks to end the inspired run of No. 22 seed Roberto Bautista Agut. Isner leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head 2-1, but they haven’t played in more than three years. The American has successfully handled the pressure of defending his first ATP Masters 1000 title by moving through his first three rounds without dropping a set. Perhaps unsurprisingly, five of his six sets won this fortnight ended in a tie-break.

Bautista Agut continued his inspired start to 2019 by ousting top seed Novak Djokovic in the fourth round, marking his second win of the year over the World No. 1. The Spaniard opened this season by winning the Qatar ExxonMobil Open (d. Berdych) and reaching his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open (l. To Tsitsipas). He’s now one win away from his third Masters 1000 semi-final.

The other quarter-final will see #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime against No. 11 seed Borna Coric of Croatia. Auger-Aliassime came through qualifying in Miami and it’s unlikely he’ll need to do that again anytime soon. The 18-year-old has racked up quality wins to reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final, including No. 17 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili on Tuesday for his third Top 20 victory.

It’s hard to believe that Auger-Aliassime was playing ATP Challenger Tour events just two months ago. His inspired run over the past six weeks includes his first tour-level final at the Rio Open presented by Claro (l. to Djere) and first Top 10 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas at the BNP Paribas Open. On Monday, he’ll become the first player born in the 2000s to crack the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings.

Coric has done it the hard way this fortnight by winning all of his matches in three sets. In fact, he’s dropped a set in his past seven victories this year. The World No. 13 has been reaping the rewards of his hard work in the off-season and is the on-paper favourite against the Canadian, but fitness could play a factor if he’s forced to go three sets once again.

Fourth-round play concludes in the first men’s singles match on Stadium. Federer meets Medvedev, who is tied first with Tsitsipas for most match wins (17) on the ATP Tour in 2019. The Russian is 1-10 lifetime against Top 10 opponents with his lone win coming over Federer’s countryman Stan Wawrinka, in June 2017 at Wimbledon.

ORDER OF PLAY – WEDNESDAY, 27 MARCH 2019

STADIUM start 1:00 pm
WTA SINGLES

Not Before 3:00 pm
ATP – [13] Daniil Medvedev (RUS) vs [4] Roger Federer (SUI)
ATP – [22] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) vs [7] John Isner (USA)

Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA SINGLES

Not Before 9:00 pm
[Q] Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) vs [11] Borna Coric (CRO)

GRANDSTAND start 1:00 pm

[1] Lukasz. Kubot (POL) / Marcelo Melo (BRA) vs [5] Oliver Marach (AUT) / Mate Pavic (CRO)
Ivan Dodig (CRO) / Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) vs Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) / Horacio Zeballos (ARG)

Not Before 4:00 pm
[3] Bob Bryan (USA) / Mike Bryan (USA) vs Rohan Bopanna (IND) / Denis Shapovalov (CAN)
After Suitable Rest – John Isner (USA) / Sam Querrey (USA) vs Wesley Koolhof (NED) / Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE)

Missed Tuesday’s Action? Watch Highlights

Novak Djokovic might be rethinking his ATP Tour schedule after a second consecutive year of early exits at the ATP Masters 1000 events in March.

Djokovic has long dominated the “Sunshine Double”, winning it four times and as recently as 2016 (2011, 2014-16). Those eight titles alone count for a fourth of Djokovic’s total Masters 1000 title haul (32).

But for the past two years, the Serbian hasn’t made a quarter-final at either Masters 1000 event, the Miami Open presented by Itau and the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

His latest setback came on Tuesday when he fell to Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut for the second time this season 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the Miami fourth round.

“It’s not the first time I lose early in both tournaments. I have done that the last couple of years. So definitely have to rethink how I prepare for Indian Wells/Miami next year,” said Djokovic, who came to Indian Wells not having played since the Australian Open in January.

“I just had way too many things off the court. I guess that affected me a little bit on the court. I didn’t feel my best health-wise, as well, in Indian Wells and here. Still rusty, but, hey, look, you learn that’s life.”

Djokovic converted only four of his 13 break points, and had a break point to go up 6-5 in the second set and serve for the match.

“He’s a solid player. Congratulations to him definitely for a great comeback. But this kind of match I should not have lost. So many opportunities. Just way too many wasted opportunities. This is what happens when you don’t capitalise on time,” Djokovic said.

Despite the disappointment, however, he should leave South Florida feeling much better about his game than he did a year ago. Last year, Djokovic lost his opening-round match at Indian Wells (Taro Daniel) and Miami (Benoit Paire).

Yet he had one of the best second halves to a season in ATP Tour history. From No. 22 in the ATP Rankings, Djokovic finished year-end No. 1 for the fifth time (2011-12, 2014-15). His 21-spot rise is the most any player has climbed to finish year-end No. 1.

Djokovic will now turn his focus to the European clay-court swing, where he will battle Rafael Nadal for the all-time Masters 1000 titles record (33). Djokovic also will try to hold all four Grand Slams for the second time in his career at Roland Garros.

“I grew up on clay, so I like playing on clay,” he said. “We’ll see. I definitely have to play better than I have these couple of tournaments.”