Nadal, Nishikori Lead Charge Wednesday In Miami QFs

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Nadal vs Sock  |  Nishikori vs Fognini

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• DAY 8 PREVIEW: The Miami Open, presented by Itau, quarter-finals in the bottom half of the draw on Wednesday is led by No. 2 seed and last year’s finalist Kei Nishikori, along with four-time runner-up No. 5 seed Rafael Nadal. The other two players making their first Miami Open quarter-final appearance are No. 13 seed Jack Sock and unseeded Fabio Fognini.

In the first quarter-final, Nishikori looks for his third win in as many meetings against Fognini, who is the first Italian to reach the quarters in Miami since Diego Nargiso in 1992 (l. to Courier). Nishikori won the first meeting in the 1R at the 2011 Australian Open in four sets and last year prevailed 7-5 in the third set in the 2R at ATP Masters 1000 Madrid. This is Fognini’s third career ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final, the first since 2014 Cincinnati (l. to Raonic). His best ATP Masters 1000 result came in 2013 Monte-Carlo where he reached the SFs (l. to Djokovic). Fognini is looking for his first Top 5 win since defeating No. 4 Nadal in the 3R at 2015 Barcelona. The 29-year-old Italian is trying to become the first unseeded player to reach the semi-finals here since qualifier Guillermo Canas advanced to the final in 2007 (l. to Djokovic). Nishikori, who is in pursuit of his first ATP Masters 1000 title, has won 15 of his past 17 matches in Miami since 2014 after going 5-4 in his first four appearances. Nishikori is appearing in his fourth straight quarter-final.and he’s trying to reach his third semi-final in Miami (2014 SF, 2016 Final) and 11th overall ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.

In the night session, Nadal brings a 2-0 record against Sock, having won both previous meetings in 2015, at Roland Garros (4R) in four sets and Beijing (QF) in three sets. Nadal is making his ninth Miami quarter-final appearance in 13 attempts and he’s played this tournament the most without winning the title. Nadal had a 16-match winning streak against Americans snapped with his Acapulco final loss to Sam Querrey on March 4. Sock is making his fourth straight quarter-final showing in an ATP Masters 1000 tournament going back to Shanghai and Paris last season. In his last tournament Sock advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final in Indian Wells (l. to eventual champion Federer). He comes in with an 18-3 match record on the season and he has beaten four of his last five Top 10 opponents going back to the 2016 US Open (d. No. 9 Cilic in 3R)..He is trying to become the first American to reach the semi-finals here since John Isner two years ago (l. to Djokovic). Sock is also in the doubles semi-finals (w/Monroe).

NO. 1 IN EMIRATES ATP DOUBLES RANKING AT STAKE: The No. 1 position in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings will change hands next Monday with Henri Kontinen of Finland or Bob and Mike Bryan taking over.from Nicolas Mahut. The Frenchman has held No. 1 every week since July 11, 2016. He won last year’s Miami title with Pierre-Hugues Herbert but they withdrew from their 2R match due to Herbert’s leg injury. Kontinen, who lost in the 2R (w/Peers), will become the first Finnish player to rank No. 1 unless the Bryan brothers win their fifth Miami title (2007-08, 2014-15). They play in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.