When J.J. Wolf arrived at the Miami Open presented by Itau, he had a good laugh.

“I FaceTimed a bunch of my friends who either played [football] at Ohio State or are playing professionally now and was like, ‘Shouldn’t you guys be here, not me?’” Wolf recalled. “It was kind of funny and they all got good kicks out of it.”

Hard Rock Stadium is the home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. However, Wolf, a Cincinnati Bengals fan, will be the centre of attention at the same venue on Saturday when he plays third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in primetime.

If this match was played last year, the first thing fans would have noticed was Wolf’s mullet, which became arguably the most talked about hairstyle on the ATP Tour. But now, the flowing hair is gone and the focus can go on one thing: his tennis.

“I think having the haircut, I expected the questions,” Wolf said. “But I feel a lot better on court without it now, just kind of focussing on my tennis. I’m happy it’s going how it is.

“I don’t think it bothered my tennis, but maybe distracted from it a little bit. It was definitely a talking point. It was talked about a lot, but it’s just hair.”

^{Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}
Wolf played college tennis at Ohio State University from 2017-19 and was named an All-American in 2019. The following year, after turning professional, he reached the third round of the US Open.

But it has not always been easy for the former Buckeye. Most recently, in early 2021, Wolf underwent two hernia surgeries, which sidelined him for seven months.

“[There was] a little bit of frustration, but I feel kind of lucky that I had to go through it to realise how professional I have to be and how much more I could be doing,” Wolf said.

Upon his return over the American summer, he won a set against each of Brandon Nakashima, John Isner and Frances Tiafoe, but was unable to finish any of those matches off. However, Wolf finished the season strong by claiming his fifth ATP Challenger Tour title in Las Vegas and advancing to two more semi-finals. And in 2022, so far, so good.

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Wolf is currently No. 167 in the ATP Rankings, but has been competing at a higher level than that. The 23-year-old earned three impressive wins in Acapulco, defeating Andreas Seppi and Kevin Anderson in qualifying before upsetting Lorenzo Sonego in the main draw. In both Indian Wells and Miami, Wolf qualified without losing a set and then won his first round in the main draw in straight sets. In the California desert, he faltered in the second round.

“I’ve been having a great time, really trying to take care of my body. I’ve been very lucky to feel pretty healthy recently,” Wolf said. “So I’ll lay my body on the line for all these matches and give it everything I’ve got.”

Wolf just played Tsitsipas in Acapulco, where the Greek triumphed 6-1, 6-0. However, the home favourite said he is not going to worry about that on Saturday.

“I don’t really think about who I’m playing too much,” Wolf said. “I just try to focus on my game. But obviously playing in the second round of a Masters [1000] tournament is super fun, so I’m really excited to see how it goes.”

The last time Casper Ruud competed at the Miami Open presented by Itau, in 2019, he was the No. 98 player in the ATP Rankings. On Friday evening he showed why he is on a whole new level now.

The World No. 8 cruised past Switzerland’s Henri Laaksonen 6-1, 6-2 in 50 minutes to earn his first main draw win in Miami. Seeded sixth, he is into the third round at Hard Rock Stadium.

Ruud did not face a break point and he won a higher rate of his second-serve points (70%) than Laaksonen did his first-serve points (54%). He converted four of his six break points to move through.

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The seven-time ATP Tour titlist will have to maintain his level in the third round against big-serving Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik. The 30th seed clawed past Colombian qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 10 minutes.

Bublik hit 13 double faults, but he was able to overcome that behind 11 aces and six breaks of Galan’s serve. Ruud leads Bublik 3-1 in their ATP Head2Head series, but the Kazakhstani earned his lone victory against the Norwegian one month ago in Davis Cup action.

Gael Monfils, who is off to a strong start to his season, continued his good form with a 7-6(9), 6-1 triumph against German Oscar Otte. This year’s Adelaide International 1 champion will face Argentina Francisco Cerundolo, who led by a set and a break when American Reilly Opelka retired due to a right shoulder injury.

Cerundolo’s younger brother, Juan Manuel Cerundolo, earned a 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-3 win against lucky loser Kevin Anderson, the former World No. 5. The 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals competitor began the week without an ATP Masters 1000 match win, and now he has two.

Did You Know?
Ruud has won six of his seven ATP Tour titles on clay courts, but he has also enjoyed success on hard courts. At last year’s Nitto ATP Finals — which is played on an indoor hard court — he made the semi-finals on his debut.

Are Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic ready to make a successful title defence this week at the Miami Open presented by Itau?

The Croatians made a good start on Friday when they defeated Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili and Serbian Laslo Djere 7-6(3), 6-1 to reach the second round. Last year, they did not lose a set en route to the title.

Next round will be a tough showdown against Canadian Denis Shapovalov and Indian Rohan Bopanna, who eliminated El Salvador’s Marcelo Arevalo and Dutchman Jean-Julien Rojer 6-7(5), 6-2, 10-3.

In other action, sixth seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski ousted South African Lloyd Harris and Dutchman Matwe Middelkoop 7-6(6), 7-5. Seventh seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares did not advance, as Argentines Federico Delbonis and Maximo Gonzalez upset them 6-7(4), 6-4, 10-8.

Australian Open finalists Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell also reached the second round with a 6-3, 6-0 triumph against fellow Aussie Alex de Minaur and Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

Daniil Medvedev begins his Miami Open presented by Itau campaign hunting a first title in south Florida. If that wasn’t motivation enough, the top seed also knows that a run to the semi-finals will secure his return to the top of the ATP Rankings after just three weeks away.

Another former World No. 1 looms large in Medvedev’s path, however, as his clash with two-time champion Andy Murray headlines Saturday’s action at Hard Rock Stadium.

Medvedev won the pair’s only previous meeting in Brisbane in 2019 but the World No. 2 has not been past the quarter-final stage in three appearances in Miami. In contrast, Murray holds a 29-9 match record at the ATP Masters 1000 event and lifted the trophy in 2009 and 2013, although this is the first time he has played at the tournament since it moved from its former home at Key Biscayne.

Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas is also in action for the first time this week as he takes on American qualifier J.J. Wolf. The pair met for the first time in Acapulco in February and Tsitsipas will be hoping for a repeat result – the Greek completed a 6-1, 6-0 victory in just 47 minutes in Mexico. World No. 167 Wolf will be full of confidence, however, after beating Germany’s Daniel Altmaier in the first round in straight sets on his Miami debut.

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Felix Auger-Aliassime will look to bounce back from a rare disappointment in 2022 when he takes on World No. 48 Miomir Kecmanovic. Auger-Aliassime suffered a second-round loss to Botic van de Zandschulp at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, but prior to that defeat had enjoyed a storming start to the year that included leading Team Canada to ATP Cup glory and clinching a first ATP Tour title at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.

His opponent on Saturday had no such problems in Indian Wells. Kecmanovic upset Marin Cilic and Matteo Berrettini on his way to the quarter-finals in California, but the Serb has never been past the second round in Miami. He has beaten Auger-Aliassime at a Masters 1000 event before, however, running out a straight sets winner at the 2019 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, the pair’s only previous tour-level meeting.

Hubert Hurkacz will step on court at Hard Rock Stadium for the first time since clinching his maiden Masters 1000 title at the same venue a year ago. The World No. 10 begins his defence with a first meeting with France’s Arthur Rinderknech, who beat Laslo Djere on Miami debut in the first round on Thursday. Hurkacz is seeking to become the first man to defend the Miami title since Novak Djokovic in 2016.

An even more recent first-time Masters 1000 winner also kicks off his Miami campaign on Saturday. Taylor Fritz ended Rafael Nadal’s unbeaten season to clinch the title in Indian Wells last week, the American fighting through an ankle problem to secure the biggest title of his career.
Fritz will hope he is back in good enough shape to improve his 2-0 ATP Head2Head series record with Mikhail Kukushkin. The World No. 159 set the meeting with Fritz by beating van de Zandschulp in the first round but has not been past the second round in 10 appearances in Miami.

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Another promising American, Sebastian Korda, faces Albert Ramos-Vinolas as the #NextGenATP star seeks to improve on his dream quarter-final run on debut in 2021. The man who beat Korda in the final of the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in November, Carlos Alcaraz, chases his first match win in Miami against Marton Fucsovics. Alcaraz beat the Hungarian in the pair’s only previous meeting in Cincinnati last year.

Also in action on Saturday are Denis Shapovalov and Jenson Brooksby, who both come into their second-round matches with 0-2 ATP Head2Head series records against their respective opponents. Shapovalov faces the big-serving South African Lloyd Harris, while Brooksby takes on World No. 20 Nikoloz Basilashvili.

ORDER OF PLAY – SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 2022

STADIUM start 12:00 noon
ATP – [1] D. Medvedev vs [WC] A. Murray (GBR)
WTA – [9] D. Collins (USA) vs [Q] V. Zvonareva
WTA – K. Muchova (CZE) vs N. Osaka (JPN)

Not Before 7:00 pm
ATP – [3] S. Tsitsipas (GRE) vs [Q] J. Wolf (USA)

Not Before 9:00 pm
WTA – K. Kanepi (EST) vs [8] O. Jabeur (TUN)

GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
WTA – [22] B. Bencic (SUI) vs H. Watson (GBR)
ATP – A. Rinderknech (FRA) vs [8] H. Hurkacz (POL)
ATP – M. Kecmanovic (SRB) vs [7] F. Auger-Aliassime (CAN)
ATP – [11] T. Fritz (USA) vs [Q] M. Kukushkin (KAZ)

Not Before 7:00 PM
WTA – A. Li (USA) vs A. Riske (USA)

BUTCH BUCHHOLZ start 11:00 am
WTA – K. Siniakova (CZE) vs [WC] D. Saville (AUS)

Not Before 12:30 PM
WTA – I. Begu (ROU) vs A. Sasnovich
ATP – [32] A. Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) vs S. Korda (USA)
ATP – [12] D. Shapovalov (CAN) vs L. Harris (RSA)
ATP – M. Fucsovics (HUN) vs [14] C. Alcaraz (ESP)

COURT 1 start 11:00 am
ATP – T. Paul (USA) vs [23] K. Khachanov
ATP – [Q] Y. Nishioka (JPN) vs [24] D. Evans (GBR)
WTA – [LL] L. Bronzetti (ITA) vs [Q] A. Kalinskaya
ATP – [18] N. Basilashvili (GEO) vs J. Brooksby (USA)
ATP – [21] M. Cilic (CRO) vs A. Popyrin (AUS)

COURT 7 start 11:00 am
ATP – K. Majchrzak (POL) vs [15] R. Bautista Agut (ESP)
WTA – A. Guarachi (CHI) / Y. Xu (CHN) vs N. Kichenok (UKR) / R. Olaru (ROU)
WTA – [ALT] E. Alexandrova / Z. Yang (CHN) vs [3] S. Stosur (AUS) / S. Zhang (CHN)
WTA – [6] G. Dabrowski (CAN) / G. Olmos (MEX) vs L. Marozava / S. Santamaria (USA)
WTA – [DA SR] L. Siegemund (GER) / V. Zvonareva vs N. Dzalamidze / U. Eikeri (NOR)

COURT 5 start 11:00 am
ATP – J. Thompson (AUS) vs [25] A. de Minaur (AUS)
ATP – P. Martinez (ESP) vs [27] C. Garin (CHI)
ATP – [29] A. Karatsev vs U. Humbert (FRA)
ATP – A. Behar (URU) / G. Escobar (ECU) vs P. Martinez (ESP) / L. Sonego (ITA)
ATP – L. Glasspool (GBR) / M. Venus (NZL) vs [2] R. Ram (USA) / J. Salisbury (GBR)

COURT 2 start 11:00 am
ATP – R. Klaasen (RSA) / B. McLachlan (JPN) vs [3] M. Granollers (ESP) / H. Zeballos (ARG)
ATP – [4] J. Peers (AUS) / F. Polasek (SVK) vs S. Bolelli (ITA) / F. Fognini (ITA)
ATP – T. Brkic (BIH) / N. Cacic (SRB) vs R. Opelka (USA) / J. Sinner (ITA)
ATP – [8] N. Mahut (FRA) / F. Martin (FRA) vs [PR] A. Krajicek (USA) / E. Roger-Vasselin (FRA)
ATP – S. Gille (BEL) / J. Vliegen (BEL) vs I. Dodig (CRO) / M. Melo (BRA)

COURT 3 start 11:00 am
WTA – [OSE] A. Cornet (FRA) / J. Teichmann (SUI) vs [5] D. Jurak Schreiber (CRO) / A. Klepac (SLO)
WTA – [1] V. Kudermetova / E. Mertens (BEL) vs [OSE] J. Paolini (ITA) / T. Zidansek (SLO)
WTA – [OSE] P. Badosa (ESP) / A. Sabalenka vs A. Danilina (KAZ) / B. Haddad Maia (BRA)
WTA – A. Muhammad (USA) / E. Shibahara (JPN) vs [8] M. Bouzkova (CZE) / L. Hradecka (CZE)
WTA – [WC] B. Bencic (SUI) / A. Konjuh (CRO) vs [OSE] A. Kalinina (UKR) / E. Rybakina (KAZ)

Jannik Sinner had his back against the wall Friday in Miami, but he powered off it to avoid an upset.

Emil Ruusuvuori served for their second-round clash and held three match points in the ensuing tie-break, but Sinner rallied for a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(8) victory to reach the third round of the Miami Open presented by Itau.

“It was a tough match today. I was a little bit lucky, because 7-6 in the third you need some luck, also,” Sinner told ATPTour.com. “I think he played very well, especially from the second set on. I tried to deal with the conditions, I tried to fight with what I had today and I am very happy about the win.”

Ruusuvuori is a talented ball-striker who was not afraid of taking it to the star Italian, who competed in last year’s Nitto ATP Finals as an alternate. But it was Sinner who struck biggest when it mattered most, hitting a massive forehand return at 9/8 in the final-set tie-break to triumph after two hours and 40 minutes.

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His Finnish opponent served for the match at 5-4 in the decider, but dropped serve at love. Instead of capitulating, Ruusuvuori positioned himself well in the tie-break, earning match points at 6/5, 7/6 and 8/7. But Sinner forced the World No. 71 to come up with a special shot in those moments, which he was unable to do.

The closest the Finn came to the upset was when he served at 7/6. Sinner hit a deep backhand that hit the baseline, and took control of the point from there. Sinner now leads Ruusuvuori 3-0 in their ATP Head2Head series, including a 6-3, 6-2 victory in Miami last year.

“It gives [me] a lot of confidence for sure, but there are some things [that] I have to work on,” Sinner said. “There are positive things, but also I have some things to improve. I think mentally I was strong today, but tennis-wise there are some things to improve.”

It will not get any easier for the 2021 finalist, who will next play former Top 10 star Pablo Carreno Busta. The Spaniard eliminated 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up David Goffin 6-3, 6-2.

Nick Kyrgios might be No. 102 in the ATP Rankings, but he certainly did not play like it on Friday afternoon.

The wild card crushed in-form fifth seed Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-0 to reach the third round of the Miami Open presented by Itau. Kyrgios will next play Italian Fabio Fognini in what should be an entertaining contest between two of the best shotmakers on Tour.

“He came out hot at the start and that’s tennis. A couple points could swing a momentum change like that and once I got that double break, I started seeing the return really well,” Kyrgios said. “I’ve been returning well the past four months and I guess when that’s happening, I’m serving the way I’m serving, I’m feeling the way I’m feeling, my shoulders open up and I just ran with it.”

It is the third Top 10 win in a two-tournament span for the Australian, who upset Casper Ruud and Jannik Sinner en route to the BNP Paribas Open quarter-finals at Indian Wells. The six-time ATP Tour titlist is now 6-2 on the season, with his only two losses coming against Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal.

Rublev entered the match in great form, having won titles in Marseille and Dubai before advancing to the Indian Wells semi-finals. But Kyrgios never allowed him to gain any rhythm. The former World No. 13 was extremely aggressive on return, preventing the fifth seed from controlling points.

Kyrgios broke his opponent’s serve five times and won 56 per cent of his return points against one of the best players in the world. The only hiccup came as he served for the match. At 40/0, Kyrgios hit an underarm tweener serve that missed, and in a flash the game ended up at deuce. But the crowd favourite gathered himself to close out the match in just 52 minutes.

“I know that he’s a player who relies on a bit of rhythm, so I just tried to keep the points short and sharp, just play aggressive,” Kyrgios said. “I’m just happy with my performance, whether it’s 7-6 in the third or something like this, I’m just happy to get through.”

Kyrgios’ next opponent, Fognini, battled past Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel 6-7(1), 6-2, 7-6(5) after two hours and 51 minutes.

For the first time in four years, Alexander Zverev is a winner at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

The 2018 runner-up was made to work by Borna Coric at Hard Rock Stadium on Friday, but Zverev produced an impressive deciding-set performance to secure a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 second-round victory.

Despite his run to the championship match in 2018, Zverev has struggled since the tournament’s 2019 move to Hard Rock Stadium. The win over Coric is his first at the new venue, and the World No. 4 will hope it is the start of another deep run at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

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The second seed was also happy to bounce back from a narrow three-set defeat to Tommy Paul in the second round in Indian Wells two weeks ago. “I needed a win,” said Zverev after the match. “I needed a three-set win as well. Obviously, when you’re up a set, you don’t want to go three sets, and yet I’m happy with how everything went.

“Borna, for me personally, is a very tough opponent. I’m happy with how things went and looking forward to the next match as well.”

Despite the loss, Coric also impressed and will take plenty of positives from what was just his third tour-level match back after 12 months out with a shoulder injury. On this evidence, the former World No. 12 will make his way back to the Top 20 in the ATP Rankings sooner rather than later.

The Zverev serve came out firing, helping the second seed hold to love three times as he dropped just three points behind his delivery on his way to the opening set. Coric immediately halted the World No. 4’s momentum in the second set, however, surging to a 3-0 lead and staying solid on serve to force a decider.

Zverev upped his level again for the third set, securing an early break that was enough as his serve continued to prove a potent weapon. According to Infosys ATP Stats, the German won 83 per cent (35/42) points behind his first delivery in the match, and he also fired 10 aces on his way to a victory that took just over two hours.

Zverev was pleased with his approach in the decider after the blow of losing the second set. “It was a very close game on my serve at 0-0,” he said. “I was down 15/30 and I played very aggressive points and I thought, ‘I lost the last few matches not going for my shots. I’m going to do that today’, and it worked out well.”

The defeat means Coric is now 0-16 against Top 5 opponents after dropping the first set. It is Zverev’s second victory over the Croatian in Miami, having beaten him in straight-sets on his way to the 2018 final, and the win levels the pair’s ATP Head2Head series at 3-3.

Zverev’s third-round assignment in Miami will be the man who pulled one of the upsets of the day: Mackenzie McDonald. The American ousted 26th seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-1, 6-4. The home favourite took advantage of all three of his break points and did not face a break point himself.

At the 2018 Australian Open, Dimitrov battled past McDonald in five gruelling sets. But under the Miami sun, the American was victorious in 72 minutes.

Zverev has won all four of his previous sets against McDonald, including a 6-2, 7-6(5) win in Montpellier earlier this year.