In his first match since Davis Cup nearly two months ago, it was smooth sailing for Nick Kyrgios against Dusan Lajovic, prevailing 6-4, 6-1 in just under 50 minutes at the Miami Open presented by Itau 

Kyrgios’ 2018 got off to an electric start when he claimed his fourth ATP World Tour title and first on home soil in Brisbane. After losing a thriller to Grigor Dimitrov at the Australian Open, the 22-year-old played just two Davis Cup rubbers before being sidelined with a tricky elbow injury that forced him to withdraw from tournaments in February and March. 

But he couldn’t have asked for a better comeback to competition, powering past World No. 108 Lajovic in a dominant display of aggressive yet measured tennis. The Australian World No. 20 hit 21 winners and was helped out by 21 unforced errors off the racquet of his Serbian opponent. He posted exceptional numbers in the service department; surrendering just five points on serve in the entire match and striking seven aces.

“I feel good. I’ve got to take it very slowly,” said Kyrgios after the match. “I know my body is not 100% just yet, but I also know that it’s going to take some time to get back to where I was and playing at the level I was playing at the start of the year. At the moment I’m happy, but I’m still taking it very slowly.”

Next up for Kyrgios is Fabio Fognini, who used his exceptional defensive skills and wealth of experience to surge past wild card and #NextGenATP Spaniard Nicola Kuhn, 6-2, 6-4. The 18-year-old Kuhn won his first ATP World Tour main draw match in the first round of the Miami Open, becoming just the second player born in the 2000’s to win a tour-level match after 17-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime two weeks ago at the BNP Paribas Open.

 Watch Full Match Replays

In other action, top American Jack Sock edged Yuki Bhambri 6-3, 7-6(3) in one hour and 34 minutes. Making his sixth tournament appearance, Sock is coming off a quarter-final run in 2017. He exacted revenge on Bhambri five years after the Indian prevailed at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. 

Eighth-seeded Sock served for the match twice – at 5-4 and 6-5 in the second set – but Bhambri would not go down without a fight. He forced a tie-break, where Sock would eventually triumph on his second match point.

The Nebraska native will next face Borna Coric for the third time in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series (tied 1-1). Coming off his best performance at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, reaching the semi-finals last week in Indian Wells, the Croatian defeated Leonardo Mayer 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4.

Coric survived a tense affair against Mayer, earning the victory after a marathon two hours and 56 minutes. He overcame 10 aces, while saving eight of nine break points faced.

Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares are off to an impressive start in their bid for a second ATP World Tour title together for the season at the Miami Open presented by Itau. The sixth seeds posted a 6-3, 6-4 result over Ryan Harrison and Max Mirnyi on Saturday to set a second-round clash with Russian Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov.

The British-Brazilian pairing had fallen in the second round the BNP Paribas Open (l. to Querrey/Muller) but successfully defended a title together for the first time in Acapulco (d. Bryan/Bryan) leading in to Indian Wells. 

Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan had a tougher time of it launching their bid for a fifth Miami Open presented by Itau title. The fourth-seeded Americans rebounded to deny Marcus Daniell and Dominic Inglot 6-7(3), 6-4, 10-3. They will next meet Diego Schwartzman and Leonardo Mayer after the all-Argentine pair eked out a 6-7(6), 7-6(5) 11-9 victory over Marcin Matkowski and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi.

Canadian 18-year-old Denis Shapovalov claimed his second victory of the day over Bosnian Damir Dzumhur when he and fellow #NextGenATP star Hyeon Chung advanced over Dzumhur and Filip Krajinovic 6-3, 6-7(5), 10-2. Shapovalov also downed Dzumhur in 6-1, 7-5 to opening his Miami singles campaign on Saturday. He and Chung will next face eighth seeds Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal.

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South African-New Zealander duo Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus pulled off the biggest upset of the day with a 7-6(5), 6-4 win over seventh seeds Ivan Dodig and Rajeev Ram. John Isner and Donald Young await in the second round.

Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic, semi-finalists last week in Indian Wells, recovered from a set and a break down to see off Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez. The Australian Open champions prevailed 4-6, 7-6(2), 11-9 to set a second-round meeting with German brothers Alexander Zverev and Mischa Zverev.

Ben McLachlan and Jan-Lennard Struff booked a showdown with No. 5 seed Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau. The Japanese-German duo saw off Marcelo Demoliner and Daniel Nestor 6-4, 7-5.

Roger Federer knows better than anyone, at 36, it is as much about keeping a spark of motivation alive as it is about managing his body. Defeat then to the 175th-ranked Thanasi Kokkinakis in his opening match at the Miami Open presented by Itau, comes with a silver lining – the chance to rest and reinvigorate that hunger in time for the grass-court swing.

The loss prompted an announcement that, for the second consecutive year, he would skip the clay-court season, including Roland Garros. It proved a masterstroke in 2017 as he went on to claim a record eighth Wimbledon title.

Federer will hand over the No. 1 ATP Ranking to Rafael Nadal on April 2, having spent 309 weeks at the top during his career. That in itself presents a new goal for the season ahead – to reclaim his place at the top.

“Yeah, I decided not to play,” Federer said of the upcoming clay-court season. “I didn’t play great last week either, I felt, overall. Nothing new, in my opinion. I’m trying to figure things out, so… I have time now.

“I’m a positive thinker. I feel like every match is another opportunity. Especially after losing one, clearly I’m down right now. I’m disappointed. I’m frustrated a little bit that I couldn’t find a way. It’s unfortunate how it goes.

“It’s pretty simple at the end of the day. You go back to the practice court or go on vacation, you really take a break, get away from it all. When you come back to the practice court to work, whatever it is, you do it at 100 per cent.”

 Watch Full Match Replays

The 21-year-old Australian’s 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) victory drew high praise from the Swiss. This was an opponent Federer had spent time training with at his Dubai base, a player who had endured more than his share of injury hurdles in his young career.

“Look, he’s a cool guy, a cool demeanour,” Federer said. “He’s been to Dubai to practise with me a couple of times. I knew him very well. We have worked very hard together. I’ve always liked his game.

“I’m happy for him that on the big stage he was able to show it, centre court, Miami, people watching, beating me. It’s a big result for him in his career. I hope it’s going to launch him, really getting his ranking up.”

Not since 2014 when he lost the Monte-Carlo final (l. to Wawrinka) and first round in Rome (l. to Chardy) had Federer fallen in back-to-back matches. Coming off a narrow defeat in the BNP Paribas Open final (l. to Del Potro), a match in which three championship points went begging, Federer admitted that he struggled to sink his teeth into his opening match in Miami. 

Still there was plenty to be upbeat about. His semi-final victory over Borna Coric in Indian Wells gave Federer his best start to a season (17-0).

“ I feel like I wasn’t feeling good. The ball, I wasn’t feeling. With my movement, things weren’t absolutely working,” Federer said. “Look, it’s disappointing. I don’t know why I could never get to any level that I was happy with today. Sometimes you have these matches. Sometimes you find a way through. I just couldn’t get it done today.

“He was just a bit better than me today. What exactly that was, I think you probably have to break it down to the key moments. He was a bit more relaxed. I was in search mode the whole match. I never got going.”

Italians have long celebrated a rich history in tennis. From the prestigious Internazionali BNL d’Italia, a staple on the ATP World Tour for more than 80 years, to its legendary superstars including Adriano Panatta and Nicola Pietrangeli, it’s safe to say that il Tricolore has always deserved its place among the flags of great tennis nations.

But as the current generation of Italian stalwarts continues to age, the question remains: who will fly their proud flag in the future? Enter Matteo Berrettini. 

The 21-year-old Italian, who hails from Rome, has been surging on the ATP Challenger Tour over the past year, claiming his maiden title on home soil in San Benedetto in 2017 and a second crown in Bergamo in February. Add to that a final at the $150,000 Challenger event in Irving, Texas, last week and suddenly the young Italian finds himself blasting into the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings for the first time. He is youngest from his country to reach the milestone since Fabio Fognini in 2009.

“I’m really excited, because I have been dreaming about this since I was a child,” said Berrettini. “I started to play when I was seven and I was always thinking about it. But I’m here now and it’s not my final goal. I hope to work hard and improve a lot.”

Welcome to the Top 100, Matteo Berrettini! The ?? soars to No. 95 in the ATP Rankings after reaching the final at the @IrvingClassic.

Profile ➡️ https://t.co/nuJP8AFNVc pic.twitter.com/ahTMhaOidt

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) March 19, 2018

The right-hander admits that although his game and his results have improved rapidly over the past year on the ATP Challenger Tour, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. 

“Two years ago, I was injured for about six months. And one year ago I was outside the Top 400. I didn’t expect this to happen so fast,” he said. “I’m really happy and enjoying the moment … I’d like to just keep improving myself and my best ranking. That’s tennis. It’s a lot of work to do but I look forward to it.”

At 6’4”, Berrettini packs a predictably potent serve and booming forehand that sees his game more at home on hard courts than the clay courts that countrymen such as Fognini have made a name for themselves upon. He possesses versatility on his backhand wing and, alongside longtime coach Vicenzo Santopadre, has developed new elements in his game to help him make further inroads towards the top of the game. 

“My coach is a like a second father. We’ve been together for eight years. I spend more time with him than my own family,” teased Berrettini. “It’s not a joke because it’s important for me to spend a lot of time with him, in and outside of tennis. I’m glad that’s here with me always.

“We work hard every day on all my strokes. My serve and my forehand are my best weapons, but I have improved a lot with my backhand and my movement on the court,” said the Italian of his style of play. “I need to play more aggressive, in attack mode. I’m very tall and need to improve these kinds of things. I have to attack the point quickly, because I’m not the kind of player that likes to play too many strokes.”

The 2018 season has also seen Berrettini make progress on the ATP World Tour level. At the start of the season, he won his first tour-level match in Doha, coming from a set down to defeat Viktor Troicki after coming through qualifying. Weeks later, he played his first main draw at the Grand Slam.

Tour life appears to be coming along nicely for Berrettini, but even in the wake of recent successes, he manages to keep a level head.

“I’m here in the Top 100 now, but I don’t like to put too much pressure on myself with the ATP Rankings. I would like to improve myself and my tennis. I’m really happy to do this and play tennis around the world. I want to become the best person I can be.”

Yoshihito Nishioka has made coming back from a major knee injury look simple this week at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

He scouted his #NextGenATP opponent by watching YouTube videos. He adapted his gamestyle and played aggressively against Aussie Alex de Minaur. Then, during only his fifth match of the past 12 months, he routed the Sydney International finalist to set a second-round contest with 10^th seed Tomas Berdych.

But don’t let the soft-spoken left-hander’s easy success deceive you: Nishioka’s rehab from a torn ACL in his left knee was as arduous as you’d expect.

After surgery in early April 2017, Nishioka couldn’t run for three months. He couldn’t play tennis for nine months. Every day, he trudged to rehab in Tokyo, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., and then from 3-6 p.m, followed by another hour of training in the evening.

Some days, he felt depressed. He wanted to quit. He confided in countryman Kei Nishikori, who was going through his own rehab on his right wrist. Nishikori advised him to take a couple days off when he felt especially down.

“It was very tough for me,” Nishioka told ATPWorldTour.com. “I wanted to move, and I didn’t feel any pain but inside the knee, it was still very, very weak. So I had to stay. Everything, I couldn’t do it.”

While Nishioka was injured, his countryman Yuichi Sugita had the season of his career. He won his maiden ATP World Tour title at the Antalya Open in Turkey and cracked the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings.

But Nishioka harboured mixed feelings for his friend’s breakthrough.

“That was very good for Japanese tennis, but I felt a little bit mad because I was doing great before I got injured. And maybe I would have won a title too,” Nishioka said.

Before the 2017 Miami Open presented by Itau, the 5’7” left-hander had reached the quarter-finals in Acapulco and the fourth round at the BNP Paribas Open, his maiden Round of 16 at an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.

Watch Nishioka Uncovered

Nishioka, then-No. 58 in the ATP Rankings, arrived in South Florida full of belief and was leading American Jack Sock 3-1 when he slid to his left and his leg “stopped”.

Nishioka slightly stumbled, leaning on his racquet as he regrouped. He played for two-and-a-half more games before rain suspended play. He eventually retired from the second-round match.

“I didn’t know how badly my knee was injured. I had never had an injury like that. I didn’t feel any pain so, [I thought], ‘Well I can play’. But my coach and the physio said, ‘You tore your ACL for sure. You have to stop’,” Nishioka said.

Better days, however, have come for Nishioka, who returned to ATP World Tour action in January, a full nine months after his injury. This week in Miami, Nishioka picked up his second win of the season after claiming his Australian Open first-rounder (d. Kohlschreiber).

Read More: The Maturation of France’s Mannarino

Nishikori, who also has successfully returned from injury, sees a better future ahead for Nishioka and Japanese tennis.

“Very happy to see him back. He was out for almost a year so he’s dropped his ranking, but I’m sure he can be Top 50 easy. Now Sugita is Top 50 so I hope to see [Nishioka] Top 50 again, Nishikori said.

“We are good friends. We always hang out. I’m happy to see him here, doing well. Hopefully he can keep winning.”

Nishioka, who’s slipped to No. 374 in the ATP Rankings, has a little further to go before he feels completely back. He estimates he’s at about 80 per cent of his former self, but, most importantly and what especially causes the 22-year-old to grin, is the fact that, 12 months after he couldn’t run or play tennis, he’s playing the sport he loves pain-free.

“I don’t feel anything… I can move well. I can run,” Nishioka said. “Tennis is all I can do. But if I can’t do tennis, I can’t do anything. So I’m very happy to be coming back, and hopefully no more injuries.”