Joe Salisbury to become third British world number one in April
Joe Salisbury will become the third British man to reach world number one when he tops the doubles rankings in April.
Joe Salisbury will become the third British man to reach world number one when he tops the doubles rankings in April.
Victoria Azarenka says her personal life has been “extremely stressful” in recent weeks and playing at the Miami Open was “a mistake”.
After battling Borna Coric for three sets in his Miami opener, Alex Zverev closed Sunday’s evening session in Hard Rock Stadium with a much more comfortable victory against American Mackenzie McDonald.
In a 6-2, 6-2 cruise, the German had break points in each of his first six return games, converting in four of them as he raced to a 6-2, 4-0 lead. He wiped away the only break point he faced, with McDonald’s opportunity coming in a low-leverage situation as he trailed by a double break at 4-1 in the opener.
“I’m happy to be finding my rhythm a little bit,” Zverev said after the one-hour, 13-minute victory. “I’m happy with getting easier wins, as well. Just generally happy to be in the fourth round. I think the tournament is going to get tougher from here, but I’m ready.”
Zverev improves to 3-0 in his ATP Head2Head against the American, taking all three meetings in straight sets, including in Montpellier in February. McDonald, currently five spots off his career-high ATP Ranking at World No. 54, was playing in the Miami third round for the first time.
Zverev-Kokkinakis R16 👀@AlexZverev gets past McDonald 6-2 6-2 in just over an hour in Miami#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/oyjp0x8Awy
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 28, 2022
The German had success pinning his opponent deep behind the baseline, enabling him to dictate the rallies both on serve and return. He also hit 10 aces in the match and won more than 70 per cent of his service points.
“The most important thing against Mackenzie is to play deep, that’s the number one priority,” Zverev said of his tactics. “Because he’s somebody that tries to go to the net, tries to play aggressive. So try to take that away from him. It worked out well and I’m happy to be through.”
The 24-year-old has never lost in three appearances in the Miami third round, previously reaching the 2018 final and the 2017 quarter-finals.
The German will look to stay perfect in the Miami fourth round when he faces as resurgent Thanasi Kokkinakis in the last 16. The Aussie beat another American in Denis Kudla, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-6(5), firing 22 aces over the course of two hours, 47 minutes.
Should the unseeded Kokkinakis pull off the upset, that result would take him to the verge of the Top 70 and his career-high ATP Ranking of No. 69. The 2022 Australian Open doubles champion, who will turn 26 in April, reached that high mark in 2015 at the age of 19.
After winning his first ATP Tour title in his hometown of Adelaide in January, Kokkinakis is now through to the last 16 as an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time in more than seven years, since Indian Wells in 2015.
Joe Salisbury earned more than just a spot in the Miami quarter-finals after teaming with longtime partner Rajeev Ram for a 7-5, 7-6(2) win over Feliciano Lopez and Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday.
After Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic lost their second-round match at the Miami Open presented by Itau, the 29-year-old Briton was guaranteed to replace Pavic at No. 1 in next week’s edition of the ATP Doubles Rankings — though he didn’t know it until he was told following his victory.
“It seems a bit crazy, to be honest. But yeah, so happy,” he said post-match.”This week, we’re focussing on doing as well as we can, trying to win this tournament in Miami. But yeah, obviously very satisfied. What we’ve done as a team, with Rajeev, to be No. 1 in the team rankings as well now, it’s pretty special.”
It will be Salisbury’s first time at the top spot, with his new status earned on the strength of titles at the 2021 US Open and the Toronto ATP Masters 1000 event — both alongside Ram, the current World No. 4. The pair also reached the championship match the Nitto ATP Finals in November.
“It’s always been a goal,” he said of the No. 1 position. “I think we’ve been focused more on winning tournaments as a team, winning Masters 1000s, winning Grand Slams. But yeah, obviously it’s amazing for us that we’re going to be going into tournaments as the No. 1 seed. To have the No. 1 ranking is amazing. It’s a special moment.”
Seeking a first Miami title, the British/American duo did not face a break point in the match and dropped just one point on first serve.
Next up for the second seeds is the wild card duo of Hubert Hurkacz and John Isner, who got past Austin Krajicek and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, 4-6, 6-3, 10-6, in the second round.
Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov ensured Salisbury’s rise to No. 1 with their 6-3, 7-6(3) win over Croatia’s top-seeded pairing of Pavic and Mektic. The Indian/Canadian duo saved the only break point they faced in the upset win.
Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski, the only other seeds in action Sunday, advanced with a 6-3, 7-6(8) win over Pedro Martinez and Lorenzo Sonego.
Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour
After joining forces for the first time to start 2022, the Dutch/British team won three ATP Tour titles in their first six tournaments. They were turned back in the Indian Wells quarters by Salisbury and Ram.
The Round of 16 will continue on Monday in Miami.
March Madness is reaching a fever pitch as both the men’s and women’s NCAA Division I basketball tournaments are down to the Final Four. And the NBA playoffs are just around the corner in April.
You can be sure that Frances Tiafoe will be watching it all. The man with the biggest NBA jersey collection on the ATP Tour joined us to talk basketball — one of his biggest passions outside of tennis.
The Maryland native is often in the crowd at Washington Wizards games, but he’s recently started getting on the court with assistant coach Alex McLean. Tiafoe uses their workouts for cross-training and plans to step up the intensity when he gets back home after the Miami Open, with a particular focus on ball-handling.
“I’m trying to get my handle right,” he said. “I want to do a lot of handle work, and I use that for my fitness. When I get back, we’re going to really grind.”
Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour
When it comes to the NBA, Tiafoe counts LeBron James, Ja Morant, DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo among his favourite players to watch.
The last time he was in the building for a game was just before Indian Wells. Taking advantage of his time in Southern California, Tiafoe was able to watch James score 56 points to lead the Lakers to a home win against the Golden State Warriors.
His prediction for the NBA Finals: The Phoenix Suns complete unfinished business by beating the Philadelphia 76ers, one year after falling just short in the 2021 Finals.
We also asked Tiafoe to pick his ideal starting five from the ATP Tour: “I’d take Reilly [Opelka] as a big. Nick [Kyrgios] can play, [Thanasi] Kokkinakis probably on the wing. Gael [Monfils] probably the four,” he said, pausing to consider his final selection. “Then Tommy Paul. He’s got a decent jumper.”
You might have noticed one glaring omission from that squad — Tiafoe himself.
“I need work,” he said with a laugh. “I’m more of a spot-up, open shooter. My handles need work. But if I’m open, I’m knocking it down.”
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For the second straight match, Jannik Sinner saved multiple match points to advance at the Miami Open presented by Itau.
After saving three against Emil Ruusuvuoiri in his opening match, the 20-year-old followed that up by erasing five against Pablo Carreno Busta in a 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 win.
A Miami finalist in 2021, the Italian was fighting from behind from the start of the match on Court Butch Buchholz and staved off his first match point on serve at 5-4 in the second. From Ad-out, he won 11 straight points to force a third. He was in even bigger trouble in the decider, falling behind by a break before breaking at love to prevent Carreno Busta from serving it out.
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That set the stage for an epic five-deuce service game that lasted more than 11 minutes and saw Sinner shake off four more match points. He did so with a flourish, gaining more and more crowd support by the minute with his fearless play. Staying aggressive with his back against the wall, the Italian hit two forehand winners — one off the ground and another with a volley — and drew two errors to stay alive.
Back level, Sinner turned the tables by pressuring the 17th seed’s serve and breaking to edge in front, much to the delight of the Miami crowd. In a three-hour, 11-minute contest, the point of the match may have come in the final game. Sinner showed his athleticism to return a dribbler off the net cord, then guessed right to stab a volley at Carreno Busta’s feet, drawing an error
He needed two match points of his own to seal the deal, booking his place in the last 16 with a forehand winner as he improved his record in deciding sets to 5-0 on the season.
Sinner sets up a marquee matchup against the red-hot Nick Kyrgios, who stormed past Andrey Rublev and Fabio Fognini to reach the fourth round without dropping a set. Sinner and Kyrgios were set to face off at the same stage at Indian Wells earlier this month, but the Italian withdrew due to illness.
Their Miami matchup will be the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting. By beating Carreno Busta, Sinner levelled their head-to-head record at 1-1.
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The third round reaches its conclusion at the Miami Open presented by Itau on Monday, as #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz takes on 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic. Stefanos Tsitsipas aims to maintain his unbeaten record against Alex de Minaur, while Daniil Medvedev takes on Pedro Martinez seeking to move a step closer to both a first Miami title and a return to World No. 1.
Carlos Alcaraz completed another first in his young career by beating Marton Fucsovics in the second round to notch his maiden match win in Miami, but the 18-year-old will hope that is just the beginning of another fairytale run as he prepares to do battle with 21st seed Marin Cilic in the third round.
Alcaraz has started 2022 in red-hot form. He picked up his maiden ATP 500 title on the Rio clay in February and surged to the semi-finals in Indian Wells without dropping a set before being edged out by Rafael Nadal.
Confidence is high for the Spaniard, but Cilic is an experienced campaigner who possesses enough weapons to hurt any opponent on Tour. The former World No. 3 also knows what it takes to go all the way at ATP Masters 1000 level, having triumphed at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati in 2016.
The Croatian came out on top in his only previous meeting with Alcaraz in Estoril last year and is seeking to reach the fourth round in Miami for the fifth time. Whether his experience will be enough to derail the youthful Alcaraz once again remains to be seen.
View Schedule | View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw
Whoever comes out on top in the Alcaraz-Cilic clash will face a fourth-round meeting with Stefanos Tsitsipas or Alex de Minaur. Tsitsipas had no time to ease himself in at Hard Rock Stadium this week as he was immediately plunged into a three-set battle with American qualifier J.J. Wolf in his opening match, but the third seed survived as he hunts his first title of 2022 in south Florida.
The history books heavily favour the Greek in his third-round clash with de Minaur. Tsitsipas holds a 7-0 ATP Head2Head series lead over the 25th seed, but will take nothing for granted against a player renowned for leaving everything out on court.
“He’s a fighter,” said Tsitsipas of de Minaur after his victory over Wolf on Saturday. “I really hope to bring out the same kind of level that I brought in the third set and maintain that throughout the match.”
De Minaur enjoyed a comfortable straight-sets win over fellow Aussie Jordan Thompson in the second round, his maiden main-draw win in Miami. Tsitsipas’ 2021 run to the quarter-finals is his best effort so far as the third seed seeks a second Masters 1000 title.
Three opponents stand between Daniil Medvedev and a return to the top of the ATP Rankings. The 2021 US Open champion knows reaching the semi-finals in Miami will be enough to get back to No. 1 after two weeks away, and his third-round assignment is a matchup with Spaniard Pedro Martinez.
Despite the prospect of returning to top spot looming large, Medvedev certainly looked focused in his second-round victory over Andy Murray. The top seed was relieved to get through a tough opening draw and admitted it had got his competitive juices flowing after plenty of time on the practice court since his third-round exit at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
“It’s never easy, first-round matches, even if you practise on the same courts for one or two months, it’s never going to be the same as a competitive tournament match,” he said after the win over Murray. “I’m happy that I managed to have zero break points against me. I feel like I have some room for improvement, but it was a great match against an amazing player.”
His opponent Martinez propelled himself into the Top 50 for the fast time with his maiden ATP Tour title in Santiago in February. He beat 27th seed Cristian Garin on Saturday to reach the third round of a hard-court Masters 1000 event for the first time, but the pair’s only previous meeting at the 2020 Australian Open ended in a straight-sets victory for Medvedev.
Hubert Hurkacz showed no sign of nerves on his return to Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, a year after clinching the biggest title of his career at the 2021 tournament in Miami.
The Pole took out big-serving Arthur Rinderknech in straight sets in his second-round match and now faces another player with plenty of weapons in 29th seed Aslan Karatsev. The pair is tied with a 1-1 ATP Head2Head series record, and Hurkacz’s title defence could come under serious threat if three-time ATP Tour titlist Karatsev can find his best level.
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A host of talented young Americans are also in third-round action on Monday, headlined by the clash between Indian Wells champion Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.
Fritz produced a solid opening match against Mikhail Kukushkin and is looking forward to taking on World No. 37 Paul despite the pair enjoying a close friendship off-court. “It’s never easy playing one of your best friends,” said Fritz after his second-round win. “But in the past, I have done well when playing my friends. It’s going to be a really tough match because he’s playing well.”
Fritz and Paul’s ATP Head2Head series is tied at 1-1, with both previous tour-level meetings taking place in 2021.
After surging to the quarter-finals on Miami debut in 2021 and breezing through this year’s opening match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Sebastian Korda had to put in the hard yards to overcome Albert-Ramos-Vinolas in three sets in the second-round. The #NextGenATP star takes on Miomir Kecmanovic, the two-time Indian Wells quarter-finalist now chasing a first fourth-round appearance in Miami, in the pair’s first tour-level meeting.
Jenson Brooksby rounds out the Americans in action on day six as he faces 15th seed Roberto Bautista Agut for the first time, while South Africa’s Lloyd Harris will look to back up his second-round upset of 12th seed Denis Shapovalov when he takes on Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka.
ORDER OF PLAY – MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2022
STADIUM start 12:00 noon
ATP – [1] D. Medvedev vs P. Martinez (ESP)
Not Before 1:00 PM
WTA – A. Riske (USA) vs N. Osaka (JPN)
WTA – [14] C. Gauff (USA) vs M. Brengle (USA) or I. Swiatek (POL)
Not Before 7:00 pm
ATP – [3] S. Tsitsipas (GRE) vs [25] A. de Minaur (AUS)
Not Before 9:00 PM
WTA – [5] P. Badosa (ESP) vs [WC] L. Fruhvirtova (CZE)
GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
WTA – [9] D. Collins (USA) vs [8] O. Jabeur (TUN)
ATP – [29] A. Karatsev vs [8] H. Hurkacz (POL)
ATP – [21] M. Cilic (CRO) vs [14] C. Alcaraz (ESP)
ATP – [11] T. Fritz (USA) vs T. Paul (USA)
Not Before 7:00 PM
WTA – L. Davis (USA) or P. Kvitova (CZE) vs [21] V. Kudermetova
BUTCH BUCHHOLZ start 11:00 am
WTA – [WC] D. Saville (AUS) vs [LL] L. Bronzetti (ITA)
ATP – L. Harris (RSA) vs [Q] Y. Nishioka (JPN)
WTA – A. Sasnovich vs [22] B. Bencic (SUI)
ATP – S. Korda (USA) vs M. Kecmanovic (SRB)
WTA – [16] J. Pegula (USA) vs A. Kalinina (UKR)
COURT 1 start 11:00 am
ATP – J. Brooksby (USA) vs [15] R. Bautista Agut (ESP)
ATP – S. Bolelli (ITA) / F. Fognini (ITA) vs I. Dodig (CRO) / M. Melo (BRA)
Not Before 3:00 pm
ATP – T. Brkic (BIH) / N. Cacic (SRB) or [Alt] M. Cilic (CRO) / L. Kubot (POL) vs [3] M. Granollers (ESP) / H. Zeballos (ARG)
COURT 7 start 11:00 am
WTA – [7] D. Krawczyk (USA) / D. Schuurs (NED) vs [DA SR] K. Flipkens (BEL) / S. Mirza (IND)
WTA – [6] G. Dabrowski (CAN) / G. Olmos (MEX) vs [DA SR] L. Siegemund (GER) / V. Zvonareva
WTA – A. Rosolska (POL) / E. Routliffe (NZL) vs A. Muhammad (USA) / E. Shibahara (JPN)
After Suitable Rest
WTA – [4] C. Gauff (USA) / C. McNally (USA) vs A. Guarachi (CHI) / Y. Xu (CHN)
While the women’s draw falls apart, the Men’s draw at the Miami Open has been fairly calm with just two of the…