March might become Hubert Hurkacz’s favourite month after the Miami Open presented by Itau. The 21-year-old Pole earned his first Top 5 win on Friday in South Florida, upsetting BNP Paribas Open champion and World No. 4 Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-4.

The 21-year-old Hurkacz, who made the quarter-finals in Indian Wells (l. to Federer), converted four of his 10 break points against Thiem, who was coming off his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in the desert. 

“It’s great. I’m just trying to enjoy every moment now, to be able to play that match against Dominic today was really special for me. He’s an unbelievable player so I needed to play on the top level… I’m very happy with that” Hurkacz said.

Hurkacz competed at the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals and, at No. 54 in the ATP Rankings, is on the brink of breaking into the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings. He improved to 3-3 against Top 10 opponents, a record that includes his two wins against Kei Nishikori this year (Dubai, Indian Wells).

“He played really well tonight and he’s also had some really good weeks leading in Dubai and Indian Wells,” Thiem said. “I didn’t play badly, but I did some things bad. He gave me the early break and I should have continued with that better than I did. But generally, he was just better and I wasn’t quite on my level like last week.”

The 6’5” right-hander will next meet #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in a matchup that could be on repeat throughout the years. The 18-year-old Auger-Aliassime ran away from Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.

Auger-Aliassime won 67 per cent of his first-serve points and overcame six double faults against the reigning Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open champion.

Not too easy, but not too comfortable, either: It’s about the exact way you’d want to start your attempt for a record seventh Miami Open presented by Itau title.

No. 1 Novak Djokovic improved to 6-0 against Aussie Bernard Tomic on Friday night, dismissing the 26-year-old 7-6(2), 6-2 at Hard Rock Stadium.

“[Tomic] doesn’t give you much rhythm at all. Every ball is different. He can play equally well in the court and far behind the baseline, slows down the pace. He just has a very unconventional shot. Kind of hard to play someone that you can’t really predict what’s next,” Djokovic said. “Second set I played better. Overall it was a solid match.”

It was Djokovic’s first match at Hard Rock Stadium, where the tournament moved to this year after 32 years at Key Biscayne. “It’s a nice court. They’ve done a really good job. They have taken, I think, a very bold step forward in the right direction… For us being a part of the Miami Dolphins Stadium is a treat,” Djokovic said.

The Serbian is coming off a frustrating finish at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Djokovic lost in straight sets in the third round to German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber. But he quickly put that loss behind him against Tomic, hitting 23 winners and breaking Tomic three times.

Djokovic currently shares the all-time Miami title record with American Andre Agassi. The Serbian will next face Argentine Federico Delbonis, who beat 32^nd seed John Millman of Australia 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(2).