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Nishikori, Kuznetsov Advance At Miami Open

Nishikori, Kuznetsov Advance At Miami Open

  • Posted: Mar 27, 2016

Nishikori, Kuznetsov Advance At Miami Open

The Japanese and the Russian win in straight sets to move into the third round

The best season of Andrey Kuznetsov’s career reached a new peak on Saturday afternoon at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

The 25-year-old controlled his nerves like a veteran and outplayed World No. 4 Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-3 in an hour and 19 minutes to move into the third round of the Miami Open for the first time.

Kuznetsov, who’s playing in Miami for the second time of his nine-year career, had never won a match at the tournament before this week. But the World No. 51 looked like the more comfortable player against Wawrinka.

Kuznetsov was more more willing to work the points and stay in rallies than the Swiss, who slapped 34 unforced errors to 16 winners. The Russian also mixed up his attack nicely, rallying with Wawrinka from the baseline and ending points at the net. Kuznetsov won all 11 of the net points he played and hit 22 winners to 21 unforced errors.

He also avenged his straight-set loss to Wawrinka last week in Indian Wells. The Russian also has now won more tour-level matches this year – 12 – than he did during all of 2015 – 10.

Most encouraging for Kuznetsov, though, might have been how he finished on Saturday. He won the final eight points, holding at love and breaking Wawrinka at love as the World No. 4 faltered.

Kuznetsov will face either No. 29 seed American Sam Querrey or Adrian Mannarino of France in the third round.

World No. 6 Kei Nishikori also moved into the third round, dismissing French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert, 6-2, 7-6(4) on Saturday. Herbert had won the doubles title in Indian Wells last weekend with countryman Nicolas Mahut, but Nishikori broke Herbert three times to advance.

Nishikori, who reached the Miami semi-finals in 2013, will play No. 27 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine in the third round. Dolgopolov beat Italy’s Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-4. Nishikori leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against the Ukrainian 3-0.

Canadian Milos Raonic also booked a spot in the third round by winning in straight sets. Raonic beat American Denis Kudla 7-6(4), 6-4. Raonic saved all six break points faced and hit 13 aces against Kudla, No. 63 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

The No. 12 seed will next face another American Jack Sock. The No. 22 seed won by default when Sergiy Stakhovsky retired down 2-6, 2-3 during their second-round match. Raonic leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against Sock 6-1. His only loss occurred the first time they played, on hard courts in 2013 in Memphis.

Gael Monfils also won easily in Miami. In less than an hour, Monfils dismissed Japanese qualifier Tatsuma Ito 6-3, 6-2 on Court 2. The Frenchman struck nine aces and broke Ito three times. The No. 16 seed next will face No. 23 seed Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay, who eliminated John Millman of Australia 7-5, 6-4.

Nick Kyrgios overwhelmed Marcos Baghdatis 6-2, 6-1 in under an hour to advance to the third round. The Aussie excelled in playing first-strike tennis, firing 14 aces and winning 55 per cent of return points against the Cypriot to set up a meeting against Tim Smyczek. Smyczek survived 24 aces from Isner and secured his second victory against a Top-20 player 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(5) when Isner double-faulted on match point.

Roberto Bautista Agut moved into the third round after Aljaz Bedene retired with the Spaniard up 7-5, 2-2.

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'Dizzy' Nadal retires from Miami Open

  • Posted: Mar 27, 2016

Rafael Nadal retired from a match for the first time in six years after feeling “dizzy” in stifling conditions at the Miami Open.

The Spaniard, seeded fifth, had called for the doctor twice before he pulled out trailing 3-0 in the deciding set against world number 94 Damir Dzumhur.

“Hopefully it’s nothing, it’s just the extreme conditions,” said Nadal.

“I called the doctor a couple of times but I felt I was not safe there, so I decided to go.”

Dzumhur, the world number 94 from Bosnia-Herzegovina, was leading 2-6 6-4 3-0 after one hour and 50 minutes when Nadal called it a day.

“Everything was fine until the end of the first set,” added the 29-year-old.

“I started to feel not very good, it was getting worse and worse and worse. In the second set I realised that I was not able to keep playing. I tried to resist but I got a little bit scared to be too dizzy.

“I wanted to finish the match but I seriously couldn’t.”

The last match Nadal retired from was the 2010 Australian Open quarter-final against Britain’s Andy Murray.

Fourth seed Stan Wawrinka was another leading name to make an early exit, the Swiss player going down 6-4 6-3 to Russia’s Andrey Kuznetsov.

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Watson advances in Miami as Nadal quits

  • Posted: Mar 26, 2016

Britain’s Heather Watson battled back from a set down to reach the fourth round of the Miami Open.

Watson beat the Belgian world number 47 Yanina Wickmayer 3-6 7-5 6-3 and next faces fifth seed Simona Halep.

The British number two saved five break points across her final two service games in the second set to level the match and took control in the decider.

In the men’s draw, Rafael Nadal retired when losing 2-6 6-4 3-0 in his second-round match against Damir Dzumhur.

The Spaniard seemed to be struggling in the oppressive humidity and did not appear be injured when he quit.

It is the first time he has retired from a match since the 2010 Australian Open quarter-final against Britain’s Andy Murray.

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Berdych Tours Miami's Wynwood Walls

  • Posted: Mar 26, 2016

Berdych Tours Miami's Wynwood Walls

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Murray Rock Solid Miami 2016 Saturday Highlights

  • Posted: Mar 26, 2016

Murray Rock Solid Miami 2016 Saturday Highlights

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Nadal Makes A Wish Come True

  • Posted: Mar 26, 2016

Nadal Makes A Wish Come True

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Dzumhur Slides Into Hot Shot Miami 2016

  • Posted: Mar 26, 2016

Dzumhur Slides Into Hot Shot Miami 2016

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Kuznetsov Upsets Wawrinka Miami 2016

  • Posted: Mar 26, 2016

Kuznetsov Upsets Wawrinka Miami 2016

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Murray Heads Miami Saturday Action

  • Posted: Mar 26, 2016

Murray Heads Miami Saturday Action

ATPWorldTour.com previews Day 4 play at the Miami Open presented by Itau

Second round action concludes on Saturday with the bottom half of the draw being played. World No. 2 and two-time Miami Open champion Andy Murray, World No. 4 Stan Wawrinka, No. 5/four-time finalist Rafael Nadal, No. 6 Kei Nishikori and No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga headline the order of play. In addition, the top two Americans, No. 13 John Isner and No. 22 seed Jack Sock, play their opening round matches.

In the opening match on Stadium, Nishikori, who reached the semi-finals two years ago, takes on French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert for the first time. Nishikori is off to a 14-5 start this season and last month he won his fourth straight title in Memphis. He comes in after reaching the quarter-finals at ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to Nadal). Herbert, who reached his maiden ATP World Tour singles final in Winston-Salem (l. to Anderson) last August, is ranked No. 107 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. He and countryman Nicolas Mahut won the doubles title in Indian Wells last weekend.

In the third match, Nadal makes his 12th appearance in Miami as he faces Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia-Herzegovina for the first time. The 29-year-old Spaniard is a four-time runner-up in Miami (2005, ’08, ’11, ’14). This is the only tournament he has not won with this many attempts. The No. 94-ranked Dzumhur is looking for his first career Top 10 win (0-5).

In the evening session, Murray brings a 2-0 head-to-head record against Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan. Both of Murray’s wins came in 2013 (Brisbane, US Open). The 28-year-old Brit, who won the title in 2009 (d. Djokovic) and 2013 (d. Ferrer), has reached the final in three of the last four years. He was runner-up in 2012 and last year (l. to Djokovic both times). Istomin won his first match of the season (1-7) on Thursday in three sets over Borna Coric. Istomin is trying to break a 19-match losing streak against Top 10 opponents. He is 1-29 lifetime against Top 10 foes and his lone win came over No. 5 David Ferrer in the third round of Indian Wells in 2012.

In the second match on Grandstand, Russian Andrey Kuznetsov and Wawrinka meet for the second straight tournament. In the third round of Indian Wells, Wawrinka won 64 76. In the next match on, No. 26 Grigor Dimitrov takes on Federico Delbonis for the second time. In their previous meeting in the first round of Wimbledon last year, the Bulgarian won in straight sets. In the third men’s match on, Isner and fellow Tampa resident qualifier Tim Smyczek square off for the first time. Isner reached the semi-finals here last year (l. to Djokovic). In the final match on, Santiago Giraldo of Colombia and Tsonga meet for the third time (tied 1-1), the first on hard courts.

On Court 1, Denis Kudla plays No. 12 Milos Raonic, who is coming off his third career ATP Masters 1000 final in Indian Wells. This is a first-time meeting. In the next match, Sock and Sergiy Stakhovsky meet for the first time in a main draw. Sock won the previous qualifying meeting here in 2013. In the final match, Marcos Baghdatis and No. 24 Nick Kyrgios square off for the first time. Both lost to eventual champion Wawrinka in Dubai: Baghdatis in final, Kyrgios in semi-final. 

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Djokovic Strolls Against NextGen Star In Miami

Djokovic Strolls Against NextGen Star In Miami

  • Posted: Mar 26, 2016

Djokovic Strolls Against NextGen Star In Miami

Djokovic wins in straight sets to face Sousa in third round

If Novak Djokovic were feeling the pressure of going for his sixth title at the Miami Open presented by Itau, he hid it well during his second-round match on Friday night.

Early on in his straight-sets rout against #NextGen star Kyle Edmund, Djokovic missed a first serve that Edmund framed into the night sky. Djokovic, instead of letting a ball person retrieve the errant shot and prepare for his second serve, slid to his left, raised his shorts and caught the ball in his left pocket to cheers and claps from the crowd.

The World No. 1 had more fun the rest of the night, winning 6-3, 6-3 against Edmund.

Djokovic, who’s looking to tie Andre Agassi with six Miami titles, hit only 13 winners to 18 unforced errors. But the Serbian dealt the damage through mid-range rallies.

Djokovic extended the rallies until the 21-year-old grew impatient and overhit or tried to outplay Djokovic, a scenario that often favored the five-time Miami Open champion. Edmund hit 13 winners to 35 unforced errors, and Djokovic won 28 of the 41 rallies that lasted between five and nine shots.

Edmund, who was playing in just his 14th tour-level match, did test Djokovic, though. The young Brit broke Djokovic in the first set and played fearlessly. At times, the 6’0” Brit effectively used his serve to push Djokovic off the court, which set Edmund up for a big forehand.

In the third round, Djokovic will put his 37-5 Miami record on the line against Portugal’s Joao Sousa, No. 38 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Sousa overcame Canada’s Vasek Pospisil 6-7(1), 7-6(5), 6-2. Djokovic leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 2-0, including a straight-sets win on hard courts in 2013 in New York.

American Steve Johnson also won a tight contest on Friday, beating #NextGen star Alexander Zverev of Germany 7-6(9), 7-6(3) in two hours. Zverev saved all four break points Johnson faced but it wasn’t enough against the 26 year old, who advances to the third round in Miami for the first time. Johnson next plays France’s Benoit Paire, who won in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 against Mikhail Youzhny of Russia.

Serbia’s Viktor Troicki won the tightest match of the day, though. Troicki beat Spain’s Inigo Cervantes 6-7(6), 7-6(9), 7-6(3) in nearly three hours. The No. 19 seed saved four match points.

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