Andrey Rublev will be thrown straight into the deep end Friday at the Miami Open presented by Itau when he plays red-hot Nick Kyrgios in his opening match at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
The World No. 7 arrives in Florida following a run to the semi-finals in Indian Wells, where it took a standout performance from eventual champion Taylor Fritz to end his 13-match winning streak. However, despite confidence being high following February titles in Marseille and Dubai, Rublev will need to find his best level if he is to overcome a rejuvenated Kyrgios, with the Australian 6-2 on the season in singles.
“The past four tournaments have been crazy for me,” Rublev told ATP Media earlier this week when reviewing his season. “Two titles and two semi-finals. I now think the most important thing is to not lose this mood. For sure I am going to lose throughout the season, but it is key to not let these defeats take over me. I am training much more relaxed and am enjoying it, which is the key to improving further. I am more motivated than ever.”
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The 24-year-old has won 10 tour-level titles across ATP 500 and 250 level, but has yet to find the winning formula at a Masters 1000 event. He heads into his second-round clash with Kyrgios locked at 1-1 in their ATPHead2Head series, however, they have not met since 2019.
Kyrgios is wary of the major threat Rublev will cause him as he looks to extend his good form.
"I grew up with him, I've seen him play. He's a hell of a player," said Kyrgios ahead of the meeting. "Obviously we all know what he's capable of and I'm going into that match as a complete underdog. But I feel confident. If I'm serving well and playing well from the back I can beat anyone, and everyone knows that. I'm excited.”
Picking up where he left off in Indian Wells 💪@NickKyrgios dispatches Mannarino 7-6(3) 6-3 to set up a R2 date with Rublev in Miami!#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/Gz5fYMYhGc
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 24, 2022
Kyrgios, who is a two-time semi-finalist in Miami (2016, 2017), moved past Frenchman Adrian Mannarino to set up a third meeting against Rublev. The 26-year-old has enjoyed a strong start to the year, lifting the men’s doubles title at the Australian Open with friend and countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis, before advancing to the quarter-finals in Indian Wells last week.
The World No. 102 will be aiming for his second Top 10 win of the season when he takes to court at the Hard Rock Stadium, after defeating World No. 8 Casper Ruud in the California desert.
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Fourth seed Matteo Berrettini will begin the quest for his maiden Masters 1000 trophy against #NextGenATP Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo. The Italian, who reached the fourth round in Indian Wells, is making his third appearance in Miami and will be searching for his first win at the tournament.
“I am feeling good,” Berrettini said ahead of his opening match. “My body is my strength and my weakness at the same time, but I am feeling good. I couldn’t play last year due to injury, so hopefully it is a good tournament.”
Berrettini will lead the action on Grandstand when he plays Cerundolo for the first time. The 20-year-old Argentine earned his second tour-level victory of the season when he defeated Serbian Dusan Lajovic in the first round.
Jannik Sinner will also be flying the flag for Italy when he faces Finn Emil Ruusuvuori. The 20-year-old became the youngest Masters 1000 finalist since Rafael Nadal triumphed at the 2005 Mutua Madrid Open when he reached the championship match in Miami last year aged 19.
Sinner, who was outside the Top 30 in the ATP Rankings a year ago, returns as the World No. 11, having captured four tour-level crowns in 2021. The ninth seed leads Ruusuvuori 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series.
Cameron Norrie and Casper Ruud will begin their campaigns against British wild card Jack Draper and Switzerland’s Henri Laaksonen respectively.
The 20-year-old Draper has flourished so far in 2022, becoming the youngster Brit to win three ATP Challenger Tour titles. The youngster is currently fourth in the ATP Race To Milan, but will have his work cut out against countryman Norrie. The 10th seed has won 11 of his past 13 matches, lifting the trophy in Delray Beach, before he soared to the final in Acapulco.
They will meet on Court 5, with Norrie leading their ATP Head2Head series 1-0, having defeated Draper at The Queen’s Club last season.
Norway’s Casper Ruud will be seeking his first win in Miami as he looks to put his disappointing third-round exit in Indian Wells behind him. The sixth seed, who trimphed in Buenos Aires earlier this year, has never played Laaksonen.
Second seed Alexander Zverev will take on Borna Coric after the Croatian earned his first tour-level win in over a year when he downed Fernando Verdasco in the first round. The 25-year-old missed the majority of last season through injury, with his previous victory before this week coming in Rotterdam in March 2021.
Other standout matches include American Frances Tiafoe taking on #NextGenATP countryman Brandon Nakashima, while 13th seed Diego Schwartzman plays qualifier Kokkinakis.
SCHEDULE - FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2022
STADIUM start 12:00 pm
WTA - [14] C. Gauff (USA) vs [Q] Q. Wang (CHN)
ATP - [PR] B. Coric (CRO) vs [2] A. Zverev (GER)
ATP - [5] A. Rublev vs [WC] N. Kyrgios (AUS)
Not Before 7:00 PM
WTA - V. Golubic (SUI) vs [2] I. Swiatek (POL)
Not Before 8:30 pm
ATP - [28] F. Tiafoe (USA) vs B. Nakashima (USA)
GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
ATP - J. Cerundolo (ARG) vs [4] M. Berrettini (ITA)
WTA - [16] J. Pegula (USA) vs S. Stephens (USA)
WTA - B. Haddad Maia (BRA) vs [4] M. Sakkari (GRE)
WTA - [5] P. Badosa (ESP) vs [Q] M. Bouzkova (CZE)
Not Before 7:00 pm
ATP - [26] G. Dimitrov (BUL) vs M. McDonald (USA)
ATP - [Q] T. Daniel (JPN) vs [31] F. Fognini (ITA)
ATP - [20] J. Isner (USA) vs H. Gaston (FRA)
ATP - [13] D. Schwartzman (ARG) vs [Q] T. Kokkinakis (AUS)
WTA - [26] M. Keys (USA) vs A. Kalinina (UKR)
WTA - E. Alexandrova vs [12] V. Azarenka (BLR)
COURT 1 start 11:00 am
WTA - S. Rogers (USA) vs [10] J. Ostapenko (LAT)
WTA - [20] E. Mertens (BEL) vs [WC] L. Fruhvirtova (CZE)
WTA - C. Burel (FRA) vs [28] P. Kvitova (CZE)
ATP - [16] R. Opelka (USA) vs F. Cerundolo (ARG)
ATP - O. Otte (GER) vs [22] G. Monfils (FRA)
COURT 7 start 11:00 am
WTA - S. Zhang (CHN) vs [24] S. Cirstea (ROU)
WTA - E. Ruse (ROU) vs [17] E. Rybakina (KAZ)
ATP - E. Ruusuvuori (FIN) vs [9] J. Sinner (ITA)
ATP - [Q] D. Kudla (USA) vs [19] L. Sonego (ITA)
ATP - [6] C. Ruud (NOR) vs H. Laaksonen (SUI)
COURT 5 start 11:00 am
ATP - [WC] J. Draper (GBR) vs [10] C. Norrie (GBR)
ATP - [17] P. Carreno Busta (ESP) vs D. Goffin (BEL)
ATP - [1] N. Mektic (CRO) / M. Pavic (CRO) vs N. Basilashvili (GEO) / L. Djere (SRB)
ATP - R. Bopanna (IND) / D. Shapovalov (CAN) vs M. Arevalo (ESA) / J. Rojer (NED)
ATP - [Q] D. Galan (COL) vs [30] A. Bublik (KAZ)
COURT 2 start 11:00 am
WTA - [21] V. Kudermetova vs [Q] D. Galfi (HUN)
WTA - [LL] S. Sanders (AUS) vs [Q] L. Davis (USA)
WTA - [29] L. Samsonova vs M. Brengle (USA)
WTA - Y. Putintseva (KAZ) vs [30] M. Vondrousova (CZE)
WTA - [DA SR] A. Panova / A. Rodionova (AUS) vs [2] S. Sanders (AUS) / K. Siniakova (CZE)
COURT 3 start 11:00 am
WTA - [WC] L. Fernandez (CAN) / I. Neel (USA) vs [DA SR] K. Flipkens (BEL) / S. Mirza (IND)
ATP - M. Ebden (AUS) / M. Purcell (AUS) vs A. de Minaur (AUS) / A. Ramos-Vinolas (ESP)
ATP - F. Delbonis (ARG) / M. Gonzalez (ARG) vs [7] J. Murray (GBR) / B. Soares (BRA)
WTA - I. Begu (ROU) / M. Niculescu (ROU) vs A. Rosolska (POL) / E. Routliffe (NZL)
ATP - L. Harris (RSA) / M. Middelkoop (NED) vs [6] W. Koolhof (NED) / N. Skupski (GBR)
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