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Stefanos Tsitsipas is up and running at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

Competing for the first time this fortnight, the Greek overcame a tough opening test against Chilean qualifier Cristian Garin, prevailing 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to reach the fourth round in Miami for the fourth consecutive year.

The Greek was playing for just the third time in the past month after he withdrew from Acapulco due to a shoulder injury and lost in the opening round in Indian Wells. He then received a first-round bye and a second-round walkover from Richard Gasquet in Miami.

"I was waiting for a very long time to get out and play," Tsitsipas said. "It has almost felt like a vacation this past week, staying in Miami. I glad I got started. It was a difficult match against an opponent who has played good tennis against good opponents in the past.

"I am happy with the way things turned around and my confidence towards the end. I had an eye-on-the-prize attitude and it was effective with how I played in the last game when he was serving."

After a match, most players are fixated on the action. Did they hit a particularly sweet shot? What could they have done better? What did they learn?

After Tommy Paul defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Sunday to reach the fourth round of the Miami Open presented by Itau, the American visited the Tennis Channel set and then sat on a yoga mat on the grass field inside Hard Rock Stadium next to coach Brad Stine and fitness coach Franco Herrero. While conducting a brief interview, Paul was most interested in not his tennis, but a frisbee.

“Oh, wow. Wow! I should have brought that up [on Tennis Channel], oh my god!” Paul said. “We got here and it was like 8:15 in the morning. Brad had a frisbee and Franco walked out onto the field and direct hit to the cheek!”

“I was aiming for him!” Stine joked.

“But he was aiming to him, not at him if you know what I mean,” Paul said, cracking a smile.

Pickleball is a relatively new sport that was invented in the United States in 1965. The sport was created by a man named Joel Pritchard, who was a congressman from Washington State, and his friend Bill Bell, who was a businessman. One day, while at Pritchard's house, the two men were looking for a game to play with their families. They didn't have...

Botic van de Zandschulp claimed the first Top 5 win of his career and extended Casper Ruud's disappointing 2022 season when he rallied from the brink of a double break in the final set to oust the 2022 finalist 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

In a scrappy match in which both players made more than 30 unforced errors, World No. 4 Ruud ultimately paid the price for converting just two of 15 break point opportunities, including one of eight in the final set.

"It was an unbelievable tough match," said van de Zandschulp, the 26th seed. "He had so many chances in the third set. When I broke back for 3-2 I was holding and had a feeling that I had a chance in his service games. At 5-4 I had one opportunity and I took it."

Ruud, who reached Grand Slam finals in Paris and New York last year and the title match of the Nitto ATP Finals, has not won consecutive matches this year. In the final set he led 2-0 and had two break points for a double break. When he handed back the break for 3-all, the Norwegian made two volleying errors.

In the final game a van de Zandschulp dead net cord off a Ruud second serve at deuce brought up match point. Ruud failed to put away a smash and then dumped a high routine forehand volley into the net - perhaps a sign of his low confidence - to seal his own fate.

Jiri Lehecka has taken the ATP Tour by storm over the past four months. After reaching the championship match at the Next Gen ATP Finals, the Czech has sprinted forward with his momentum.

The 21-year-old defeated former World No. 2 Alexander Zverev at the season-opening United Cup and gained momentum from there. Lehecka battled to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, where he upset three current or former Top 10 stars: Felix Auger-Aliassime, Cameron Norrie and Borna Coric.

The son of former professional athletes — father Jiri was a professional swimmer and mother Romana a track-and-field athlete — has the firepower to go blow for blow with some of the best players on Tour.

ATPTour.com caught up with Lehecka in Miami to learn more about his personality off the court.

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While teenage World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz is deservedly commanding the attention of the tennis world, 21-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner is quietly building an impressive season of his own.

In defeating Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-4 Sunday night to reach the fourth round of the Miami Open presented by Itau, the former Next Gen ATP Finals champion moved to 18-4 on the season, his fastest start ever to a season.

Beginning with his title run in Montpellier, Sinner has won 14 of his past 16 matches and last week reached the semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Open before falling to Carlos Alcaraz.

In a match in which both players hit double the number of unforced errors to winners, Sinner's victory was underpinned by his dominance of the second serve of Dimitrov, who won just seven of 26 points that began with his second delivery.

"It's the first time I have played in the evening. I can be very happy with my returning game, especially on second serves, when I tried to be very aggressive," Sinner said. "He's such a talented and intelligent player, so I am very happy about how I played today."

World No. 5 Daniil Medvedev is through to the fourth round in Miami for the loss of just three games following the withdrawal of Alex Molcan from their scheduled third-round match Monday.

Medvedev had a bye in the first round and dismissed Roberto Carballes Baena 6-1, 6-2 in his opening match. On Sunday Molcan withdrew from the tournament with a right hip injury.

Medvedev, who has won 20 of his past 21 matches, will next face the winner of Frenchman Quentin Halys and American Mackenzie McDonald. He is seeded to meet 2021 Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals and second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals. Should he make it to the final, Medvedev could face a BNP Paribas Open final rematch with World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.

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Medvedev has won four of the six ATP Masters 1000 hard court events, triumphing in Cincinnati (2019), Shanghai (2019), Paris/Bercy (2020) and Toronto (2021). Medvedev's runner-up finish in Indian Wells last Sunday leaves Miami as the only hard court Masters 1000 at which he has not reached the final.

Carlos Alcaraz enjoyed a memorable day on and off the court Sunday at the Miami Open presented by Itau. After defeating Dusan Lajovic 6-0, 7-6(5), the World No. 1 enjoyed two meetings with celebrities.

Straight off the court inside Hard Rock Stadium, the 19-year-old caught up with NBA superstar Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat. Butler, who also watched Alcaraz play in Buenos Aires earlier this year, had plenty of praise for the Spaniard.

“He’s always poised. He’s never rattled and more than anything, it looks like he’s having so much fun out there,” Butler told ATPTour.com. “I think whenever you have fun and you have that mentality that you know you’re the best, you go out there and you play as though you’re the best, results happen and he’s not No. 1 for no reason.”

Later on, Alcaraz posed for photographs with Dominican singer Natti Natasha. The defending champion in his press conference explained how “great” it feels to see celebrities enjoy watching him perform.

Natti Natasha and Carlos Alcaraz. Photo: Andrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour
“I feel a little bit nervous when I see a person like Jimmy, celebrities, when I was playing, like in the US Open. For me it's unbelievable,” Alcaraz said. “In certain ways I can't believe that these people enjoy watching my matches for me. It's crazy.”

Austin Krajicek and Nicolas Mahut’s seamless transition from doubles rivals to partners continued Sunday at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

Playing their first tournament as a pair, Krajicek and Mahut defeated Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez 6-3, 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals at the ATP Master 1000 event. The unseeded duo, which is competing together this week because Krajicek's usual partner, Ivan Dodig, is out with an injury, backed up its first-round upset of Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in style on Court 7.

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Their triumph against Brazil's Matos and Spain's Vega Hernandez was based on a high-class serving performance. Krajicek and Mahut sent down 10 aces, won 81 per cent (30/37) of points behind their first delivery and saved four of five break points they faced in their 90-minute triumph.

It was a 450th tour-level doubles victory for Mahut, who lifted the Miami trophy in 2016 alongside Pierre-Hugues Herbert. He and Krajicek’s next opponents at Hard Rock Stadium will be Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni or Marcelo Melo and John Peers.

The third round draws to a close Monday at the 2023 Miami Open presented by Itau, where a host of top names are in action as they try to extend their run at the second ATP Masters 1000 event of the year.

After a bye and a walkover, respectively, in the opening two rounds, second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas takes to court at Hard Rock Stadium for the first time this year against Cristian Garin. The in-form Daniil Medvedev plays Alex Molcan, while Felix Auger-Aliassime meets 2022 semi-finalist Francisco Cerundolo.

With 2021 champion Hubert Hurkacz and home favourite Frances Tiafoe also in third-round action, ATPTour.com previews an intriguing Day 6 in southern Florida.

View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw | View Schedule

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Carlos Alcaraz continued his ‘Sunshine Double’ quest in style Sunday, overcoming Dusan Lajovic 6-0, 7-6(5) to reach the fourth round at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

Arriving off his title run in Indian Wells, the World No. 1 has quickly adapted to the faster conditions in Miami, where he is the defending champion. In a high-quality performance, the top seed overpowered Lajovic with his relentless aggression on return and he demonstrated incredible agility to cover the court and repel attacks from the Serbian.

The Spaniard, who hit 27 winners to Lajovic's eight, recovered from failing to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set against Lajovic, recomposing himself to seal his eighth consecutive straight-sets win on his fourth match point in one hour and 31 minutes.

"I feel fast on court, I am moving well," said Alcaraz, who is now 16-1 on the season. "I am happy with the variety I am playing [with]. Lots of shots. I am enjoying every single second out there."

The 19-year-old needs to lift his fourth ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Miami to prevent Novak Djokovic from replacing him as No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. He will continue his title defence against Tommy Paul.

Holger Rune has had no trouble settling in to his main-draw debut at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

The seventh-seeded Dane notched his second consecutive straight-sets victory on Sunday by seeing off Diego Schwartzman 6-4, 6-2 to book his spot in the fourth round at the ATP Masters 1000 event. Up against the resilient Schwartzman for the first time, Rune converted all four break points he earned to seal a 92-minute victory and quieten the vociferous Argentine support on Court Butch Buchholz.

“It was very important [to get in front early],” said Rune after the match. “Diego is very strong… My focus was really to be strong every time I played to put him under pressure, and I did that very well. I’m super happy at how composed I stayed today.”

Rune around ?‍♂️?@MiamiOpen debutant @holgerrune2003 delights the Danish fans with a 6-4, 6-2 masterclass#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/abEZec5hku

Prior to the tournament, Rune had spoken of his desire to create positive memories at Hard Rock Stadium after he was forced to retire injured during qualifying last year. The 19-year-old has certainly started well in chasing that goal in Florida, where he overcame Marton Fucsovics in his opening match.

Four sets played, four sets won for Andrey Rublev at this year’s Miami Open presented by Itau.

On Sunday, the sixth seed backed up his opening-round victory against J.J. Wolf by dispatching Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1, 6-2 to reach the fourth round at the hard-court ATP Masters 1000 event.

[ATP APP]

In a dominant display, Rublev timed his forehand cleanly throughout the 58-minute clash, striking the ball through 2022 quarter-finalist Kecmanovic on the fast courts to improve to 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series.

Rublev’s fourth-round opponent will be Jannik Sinner or Grigor Dimitrov. Rublev is a 12-time tour-level titlist, a tally which includes five ATP 500 crowns, but is chasing his first Masters 1000 title in Florida.

Taylor Fritz reached the fourth round at the Miami Open presented by Itau for the third consecutive year Sunday, earning a 6-4, 6-4 win against Denis Shapovalov.

In the latest chapter of their rivalry, the American was locked in from ball one inside Hard Rock Stadium, outlasting Shapovalov in the heavy-hitting baseline exchanges. Fritz committed just eight unforced errors to the Canadian’s 17, and was strong on serve, not facing a break point during the 81-minute clash.

"I couldn't really find that attacking formula because he was hitting the ball so hard and he was hitting his second serve so big," Fritz said. "It turned more into making balls and being steady. Because when he was putting balls in the court, I couldn't attack much off that."

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With his victory, Fritz improved to 4-5 in his ATP Head2Head series against Shapovalov, having also triumphed in Acapulco earlier this year. The 25-year-old, currently No. 9 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, will next play seventh-seeded Dane Holger Rune in a blockbuster fourth-round meeting.

Frances Tiafoe withstood a ferocious returning assault from Japan's Yosuke Watanuki to sneak into the third round of the Miami Open presented by Itau in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Tiafoe needed six match points to see off the swashbuckling 24-year-old World No. 123, who crushed 55 winners (including 28 off the forehand side) and kept the American on his toes by taking huge cuts on returns.

"It was brutal tonight, just one of those nights you try to get over the line," Tiafoe said. "I was a little frustrated as I had never seen him play and he played very well and was hitting incredibly from the baseline.

“He was playing lights out and I was on the back foot a lot. He played a helluva match tonight, so give respect where respect is due. He was so red hot but I was hoping his level might drop in glimpses and I did a good job of taking advantage when it did.”

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Talented Canadian Denis Shapovalov has made a slow start to his 2023 season. The lefty owns a 6-6 record entering his third-round match at the Miami Open presented by Itau and has not won consecutive matches since the Australian Open.

But as the 23-year-old has battled adversity, he has kept the big picture in mind.

“I think at the end of the day, first of all if things are not going well, you can have it way worse. I’m fortunate enough to be in the position that I am and trying to be the best possible,” Shapovalov told ATPTour.com. “But it’s just a sport. It’s just a game. Obviously I want to be better and sometimes I’m frustrated on the court. But I think I do a good job of just not carrying it over because we’re very lucky. I’m living a good life.

“I think in general being a person, it’s different. You’re an athlete but at the end of the day you’re a person, so I always try to treat people like I’d want to be treated. I think it’s from my upbringing as well.”

According to Shapovalov, “life in general has been pretty awesome”. Despite losing five of his past seven matches, he has kept things in perspective.

In what will go down as one of the best comebacks and matches of the year, 2021 Miami Open presented by Itau champion Hubert Hurkacz saved five match points en route to a memorable 6-7(10), 7-6(7), 7-6(6) victory against Thanasi Kokkinakis on Saturday evening.

Hurkacz saved three match points in the second-set tie-break and another two in the final-set tie-break, ultimately finding a way to win after three hours and 31 minutes, marking the longest best-of-three match of the season.

“It’s tough to explain for me. I knew I was playing good tennis, I mean Thanasi [was] as well,” Hurkacz said directly after his win. “I was just trying to stay in there and compete, play some good shots. Either way, if I won or I lost — obviously I wanted to win so, so much — but either way [I] should have been happy with myself.”

[ATP APP]

The eighth seed saved the first three match points at 4/6, 5/6 and 6/7 in the second-set tie-break. On the first of those points, Kokkinakis jammed himself on a forehand volley right on top of the net, then missed forehands on the next two.

Kevin Krawietz and Fabrice Martin first competed together at an ITF World Tennis Tour event in 2014. On Saturday, nine years later, they earned their biggest win as a pair.

The German-French duo upset sixth seeds and last week’s Indian Wells champions Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 7-5, 4-6, 10-4 to reach the second round of the Miami Open presented by Itau.

Krawietz and Martin won a match at both the BNP Paribas Open and the Phoenix ATP Challenger Tour event the past two weeks before losing in the second round. They will try to buck that trend against Dutchmen Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop.

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There was another upset when Jamie Murray and Michael Venus beat fourth seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer 6-4, 7-6(10). The Indian Wells quarter-finalists saved four of the five break points they faced to advance.

Daniil Medvedev has wasted little time returning to his winning ways, breezing past Roberto Carballes Baena in the second round of the Miami Open presented by Itau Saturday night.

In his first match since his 19-match winning streak was snapped by Carlos Alcaraz in last Sunday's BNP Paribas Open final, the former World No. 1 enjoyed the faster conditions inside Hard Rock Stadium as he sprinted to a 6-1, 6-2 victory.

The 2021 US Open champion hit 18 winners to his opponent's five. Medvedev also had success with the drop shot, perhaps taking a cue from his Indian Wells conqueror, Carlos Alcaraz.

"After my match with Carlos I thought I needed to use that shot more," Medvedev joked. "I've always liked drop shots but it's not a weapon in my game that I'm going to use 50 times a match. You need to have confidence in the shot and today it worked pretty well."

The World No. 5 next faces World No. 56 Slovakian Alex Molcan, who defeated Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-2.