Denis Shapovalov vs. Viktor Troicki
Seven months after announcing his presence with back-to-back wins over Juan Martin Del Potro and Rafael Nadal en route to the Coupe Rogers semi-finals, Denis Shapovalov will make his Miami Open presented by Itau debut on Thursday. The #NextGenATP Canadian reached his second ATP World Tour semi-final at the Delray Beach Open (l. to eventual champion Tiafoe) in February. Three of his losses this season have come against Top 15 opponents. The 18-year-old, at No. 46 in the ATP Rankings, fell in the second round in Indian Wells (l. to Cuevas) leading in. Troicki, No. 68 in the ATP Rankings, leads the duo’s FedEx ATP Head2Head series 1-0 after a three-set triumph in Shanghai last. The Serbian won his sixth straight victory in a five-set match at the Australian Open to start his year (d. Bolt, l. to Kyrgios in 2R). Bosnian 24th seed Damir Dzumhur awaits the winner in round two.

View FedEx ATP Head2Head for the following matches from the 2018 Miami Open presented by Itaú & vote for who you think will win! 
Shapovalov vs Troicki | Medvedev vs Tsitsipas | de Minaur vs Nishioka

Frances Tiafoe vs. Nicolas Kicker
Coming off a maiden ATP World Tour title last month, #NextGenATP American Frances Tiafoe will appear in his second Miami main draw. The World No. 63 takes on 25-year-old Argentine Nicolas Kicker for the first time in his opening match. The 20-year-old Tiafoe downed Shapovalov, Next Gen ATP Finals champion Hyeon Chung and his childhood idol Juan Martin Del Potro en route to the Delray Beach Open title before a first-round exit against compatriot Ernest Escobedo in Indian Wells. Kicker defeated No. 26 seed Dzumhur on his way to the third round in Indian Wells before he narrowly went down to No. 7 seed Kevin Anderson. Kicker stands at No. 87 in the ATP Rankings. The winner will take on No. 21 seed Kyle Edmund.

Alex De Minaur vs. Yoshihito Nishioka
The 18-year-old Aussie, Alex De Minaur, made a blistering start to 2018 on home turf with a semi-final run in Brisbane (l. to Harrison) before his first ATP World Tour final in Sydney (l. to Medvedev). For the second time in as many ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events, De Minaur won through qualifying to take his place in the main draw. In his Indian Wells leading in, he had his first Masters 1000 win (d. Struff) before falling to eventual champion Del Potro. His 22-year-old opponent Yoshihito Nishioka tore his ACL at the 2017 Miami Open. The Japanese player’s best result this year is a five-set first-round upset of No. 27 seed Phlipp Kohlschreiber at the Australian Open. No. 10 seed Tomas Berdych will take on the winner in the second round.

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Daniil Medvedev
#NextGenATP 19-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas took a set off No. 5 seed Dominic Thiem in their second-round clash in Indian Wells debut leading in. The No. 70 in the ATP Rankings will square off against 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier Daniil Medvedev for the first time in the pair’s Miami debut on Thursday. The 19-year-old Greek reached the quarter-finals in Doha to open his season (l. to Thiem). Earlier this month, he beat No. 6 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber en route to the quarter-finals in Dubai. Medvedev, the World No. 52, started the season in a flurry when he claimed seven straight matches to win his first ATP World Tour title in Sydney (d. De Minaur) as a 21-year-old qualifier. The winner will face No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev.

Thanasi Kokkinakis vs. Calvin Hemery
Continuing his steady climb back from injury, #NextGenATP Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis takes on fellow qualifier Calvin Hemery of France. The 21-year-old Kokkinakis reached his first ATP World Tour final in Los Cabos last season (l. to Querrey) as a 454th-ranked wild card at the time. Now with his ATP Ranking back up to No. 175 he will meet Hemery for the first time. The 23-year-old Frenchman reached an ATP Challenger Tour semi-final (l. to Vatutin) in Quimper, France in January. The reward for the winner is a date with top seed and defending champion Roger Federer.

Denis Istomin vs. Miomir Kecmanovic
ATPWorldTour.com rated Denis Istomin’s second-round win over defending champion Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open as the biggest upset of 2017. The 31-year-old Uzbekistani, No. 85 in the ATP Rankings, has endured a tougher start to 2018 with injuries ending his Brisbane International quarter-final against Ryan Harrison and forcing his withdrawal before his scheduled match against Peter Gojowczyk in Indian Wells leading in. #NextGenATP wild card Miomir Kecmanovic will face Istomin for the first time on Thursday. The 18-year-old Serbian beat Tiafoe in the ATP Challenger Tour event in Newport in January, and counts wins over #NextGenATP American Michael Mmoh, Aussie Jordan Thompson and Spaniard Marcel Granollers in his three respective Challenger tournaments leading in. No. 16 seed Pablo Carreno Busta awaits in the second round.

Nicola Kuhn vs. Darian King
In just his second ATP World Tour main draw event, #NextGenATP Spaniard Nicola Kuhn will take on Darian King of Barbados for the first time. The 18-year-old Kuhn, the son of a German father and a Russian mother, reached the boys’ singles final at Roland Garros last year (l. to Popyrin). King won through qualifying and reached the final of the Indian Wells Challenger (l. to Klizan) prior to the BNP Paribas Open. The winner will meet No. 15 seed Fabio Fognini in round two.

Still reeling from his breakthrough ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells, Juan Martin del Potro is keeping his celebrations in check ahead of the Miami Open presented by Itau. The Argentine is riding an 11-match winning streak, having also claimed the trophy in Acapulco.

He arrives in Miami seeded fifth, with his lone semi-final appearance coming back in 2009 (l. to Murray). A title run would catapult the 29-year-old into an elite group – currently occupied by just seven men – to have claimed the Sunshine Double (winning Indian Wells and Miami back to back).

Speaking ahead of his 10^th Miami campaign, Del Potro’s triumph over Roger Federer in Sunday’s Indian Wells final was still sinking in. Motivation was high as he prepared to open his campaign in Key Biscayne.

“It was an epic match,” Del Potro said of the Indian Wells final. “The level of tennis was very high. The people love to see this kind of tennis. And also the passion which both players showed in the finals was great to see.

“To me, beating Roger in another final, having a positive record against him in finals, is some good. And also to get my first title playing a Masters 1000 in Indian Wells… a place I like to play, that makes me feel special, and I’m excited to keep enjoying these days here in Miami with all my people. I’m excited to keep playing good tennis here.”

Back up to No. 6 in the ATP Rankings, Del Potro will open his campaign against Robin Haase after a first-round bye with former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori drawn to meet him in the third round. Like Nishikori, another player on the comeback trail, six-time Miami champion Novak Djokovic, stands as Del Potro’s likely fourth-round opponent.

After four wrist surgeries and back playing at his highest level in years, the Argentine is well and truly in the mix when talk of big titles arises. It is a status the typically modest Del Potro would prefer to downplay. Amid all the talk of the Sunshine Double, his priority remains staying healthy enough to compete at the highest level.

“I’m not thinking too much. I’m just enjoying the moment that I am living,” Del Potro said. “I know what I have been through to get to this time and this place and this ranking. I am still calm… It will be my fourth tournament in a row. I’m tired, and mentally and physically it’s not easy to deal with all of these emotions.

“But then I will have a break, I will see what tournament we play on clay, because my body feels that surface, and I want to stay healthy during the whole season. That’s my biggest goal.”