Novak Djokovic Takes On Martin Klizan To Defend Miami Open Crown
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Novak Djokovic might have gotten shut out of the doubles competition at the 2015 Miami Open, but he’s ready to hold on to his four-time champion crown along with the World No. 1 ranking this evening against Martin Klizan.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic opens the defence of his Miami Open crown on Day 4 at Crandon Park. The four-time champion goes up againstMartin Klizan for the first time in the night session. The other two matches on Stadium see Grigor Dimitrov clash with Vasek Pospisiland Jo-Wilfried Tsonga take on Tim Smyczekin a match which was pushed back from Friday due to rain. American No. 1 John Isneralso opens; he takes on Andrey Rublev.
MARCHMASTERS: Djokovic is bidding to become the first player to complete the Indian Wells-Miami title sweep three times. Since 1991, seven players have achieved back-to-back success at these events – Jim Courier (1991), Michael Chang (1992), Pete Sampras (1994), Marcelo Rios (1998), Andre Agassi (2001), Roger Federer (2005-06) and Djokovic (2011, ‘14).
CLOSING IN ON NADAL: This is Djokovic’s 139th week at world No. 1 and he is now just two weeks away from tying Nadal for the sixth-most weeks at the summit of the Emirates ATP Rankings (since August 23, 1973). Here are the players who have ranked No. 1 for at least 100 weeks:
PLAYER WEEKS AT NO. 1
1 Roger Federer 302
2 Pete Sampras 286
3 Ivan Lendl 270
4 Jimmy Connors 268
5 John McEnroe 170
6 Rafael Nadal 141
7 Novak Djokovic 139
8 Bjorn Borg 109
9 Andre Agassi 101
• YOUNG GUNS: Some of the world’s top-ranked teenagers are in action today: Borna Coric, Alexander Zverev and the current junior world No. 1Andrey Rublev. With Hyeon Chung also reaching the 2R (l. to Berdych on Friday), this is the first time four-or-more teenagers have advanced to the 2R in Miami since 2007, when Murray (19, SF), Djokovic (19, Won), Querrey (19, 2R), Korolev (19, 2R) and Del Potro (18, 4R) all advanced beyond the 1R. Rublev, at 17y 5m, is the third-youngest player to win a match in Miami history, behind Fabrice Santoro (17y 3m) in 1990 and Boris Becker (17y 2m) in 1985.
DAY 4 FEDEX ATP HEAD2HEADS
STADIUM
Tim Smyczek (USA) vs [11] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)
FedEx Head2Head: First ATP World Tour meeting
• Smyczek kicked off his week with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat of qualifierAdrian Menendez-Maceiras.
• Smyczek fell in the 1R on his only previous main draw outing in Miami in 2013 (l. to Tursunov).
• Smyczek followed up his 2R exit at Indian Wells (l. to Kohlschreiber) with a runner-up showing at the Irving Challenger in Texas (l. to Bedene).
• In January, Smyczek came through qualifying to reach the 2R at theAustralian Open, where he fell to Nadal in five sets. He went on to win a fourth career Challenger title in Dallas (d. Ram).
• Smyczek has an 0-3 record vs. Top 10 opponents.
• In 2014, Smyczek put together a second Top 125 season in a row after compiling a 7-12 record.
• Tsonga is back at the Miami Open for the eighth time. He is a three-time quarter-finalist here: 2009 (l. to Djokovic), 2010 (l. to Nadal) and 2012 (l. to Nadal).
• Tsonga is set to contest his first competitive match since falling to Stan Wawrinka in the Davis Cup final. He missed the opening two months of the season with a right arm injury.
• In 2014, Tsonga finished in the Top 15 for a seventh year in a row, highlighted by winning a second career ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto. He became the seventh active player to win multiple ATP Masters 1000 titles (also Paris ‘08).
[9] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) vs Vasek Pospisil (CAN)
FedEx Head2Head: Dimitrov leads 1-0
• Dimitrov returns to the Miami Open for the fifth time. His best result here was a 4R appearance in 2012 (d. No. 7 Berdych in 3R, l. to Tipsarevic).
• Dimitrov will be hoping to bounce back this week after a 3R loss toTommy Robredo at Indian Wells. The Bulgarian began the year with runs to the Brisbane SF (l. to Federer) and 4R at the Australian Open (l. to Murray) before back-to-back 2R exits in Rotterdam (l. to Muller) and Acapulco (l. to Harrison).
• Dimitrov’s defeat by then-world No. 169 Harrison in Acapulco was his first loss to a player ranked outside the Top 100 since February 2013 (l. to No. 130 Karlovic in Zagreb).
• In 2014, Dimitrov finished a year-end high No. 11, winning a personal-best 50 matches and three titles on as many surfaces: Acapulco (d. Anderson), Bucharest (d. Rosol) and Queen’s Club (d. F Lopez).
• Pospisil clinched his first ever match win in Miami, overcoming Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 7-6(7).
• Pospisil is back at the Miami Open for the second time. He fell in his opening match last year (l. to Bedene).
• Pospisil clinched his first match win at Indian Wells last week when Kukushkin withdrew while trailing 6-4 4-2 in the 1R (l. to Murray in 2R). The Canadian captured a maiden ATP Masters 1000 doubles title alongside Pospisil at Indian Wells, defeating Bolelli and Fognini in the final.
• Pospisil advanced to the 3R at this year’s Australian Open (l. to Garcia-Lopez). He also clinched the decisive fifth rubber in Canada’s 3-2 win over Japan in Davis Cup earlier this month, defeating Go Soeda in straight sets.
• In 2014, Pospisil finished in the Top 60 for the second season in a row and contested the first all-Canadian ATP World Tour final in Washington in early August (l. to Raonic).
[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Martin Klizan (SVK)
FedEx Head2Head: First ATP World Tour meeting
• Djokovic returns to the Miami Open for the 10th time. He is a four-time champion here, winning the title in 2007 (d. Canas), 2011 (d. Nadal), 2012 (d. Murray) and 2014 (d. Nadal). He also finished runner-up in 2009 (l. to Murray). The Serb’s last loss in Miami came against Tommy Haas in the 4R in 2013.
• Djokovic clinched a fourth Indian Wells title last Sunday, bringing his career haul to 21 ATP Masters 1000 crowns and 50 titles overall. He became the 11th player in the Open Era to win 50 titles, surpassing Rod Laver and coach Boris Becker, who both finished their careers on 49.
• Djokovic arrived in Indian Wells after helping Serbia reach the Davis Cup World Group QF with victory over Croatia. The world No. 1 defeated Mate Delic before teaming up with Nenad Zimonjic to clinch the doubles points.
• In January, Djokovic became the first man in the Open Era to win fiveAustralian Open titles, defeating Murray in the final. It was his eighth Grand Slam crown, putting him level with Agassi, Connors, Lendl, Perry and Rosewall in eighth place on the all-time list for most major titles.
• Djokovic also reached the Dubai final last month (l. to Federer in final).
• In 2014, Djokovic finished the season at No. 1 for the third time in four years, winning an ATP World Tour-high seven titles in eight finals. His season was highlighted by capturing a second Wimbledon crown, four ATP Masters 1000 titles and the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London.
• Klizan clinched his first ever match win in Miami, defeating Paolo Lorenzi6-3, 6-4 in the 1R.
• On his only previous visit to Miami in 2013, Klizan fell in his opening match to Jarkko Nieminen.
• Klizan’s best results this season have been QF showings in Brisbane (l. to Dimitrov) and Quito (l. to Estrella Burgos).
• Klizan has a 3-8 career record against Top 10 opposition.
• In 2014, Klizan returned to the Top 100, rising 77 ranking spots during the year to finish No. 34. His season was highlighted by winning a second ATP title in Munich as a qualifier (d. Fognini). He was one of two qualifiers to win titles during the year. He also posted a career-best win over world No. 2Rafael Nadal en route to the SF in Beijing as a qualifier.
GRANDSTAND
[4] Kei Nishikori (JPN) vs Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)
FedEx Head2Head: Youzhny leads 1-0
• Nishikori returns to Miami for the sixth time. He reached the SF last year for the first time with wins over world No. 4 David Ferrer and No. 5Roger Federer, but was forced to withdraw ahead of his clash with Novak Djokovic due to a groin injury.
• At Indian Wells, Nishikori fell in straight sets to Feliciano Lopez in the round of 16.
• Nishikori advanced to the QF or better at his first four tournaments this year, winning an eighth title in Memphis (d. Anderson) and reaching the final in Acapulco (l. to Ferrer), the SF in Brisbane (l. to Raonic 7-6 in the 3rd) and the QF at the Australian Open (l. to Wawrinka).
• Ahead of Indian Wells, Nishikori defeated Pospisil and Raonic in Davis Cup in Vancouver but couldn’t prevent Japan falling 3-2 to Canada in the World Group 1R.
• Nishikori rose to a career-high No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on March 2. He is the highest-ranked Asian player in ATP history. He has since dropped back down to No. 5.
• In 2014, Nishikori ended the season at a year-end best No. 5 after registering a career-high 54 wins. His year was highlighted by four titles and maiden final appearances at Grand Slam and ATP Masters 1000 level (US Open and Madrid).
• Youzhny overcame a slow start to open with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory overAndrey Golubev.
• Youzhny returns to Miami for the 11th time. He reached the QF here in 2010 (l. to Soderling).
• Youzhny’s highlight this season was a QF appearance in Zagreb (l. to Baghdatis). He fell in the 1R in his other four outings: Doha (l. to No. 171 Basilashvili), Australian Open (l. to Nadal), Dubai (l. to Federer) and Indian Wells (l. to No. 146 Hanescu).
• Youzhny has a 30-78 record vs. Top 10 opponents with his most recent win coming against No. 10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Cincinnati last August.
• In 2014, Youzhny finished outside the Top 40 for the first time since 2005. His best result was a SF in Stuttgart in July (l. to Rosol).
[WC] Andrey Rublev (RUS) vs [22] John Isner (USA)
FedEx Head2Head: First ATP World Tour meeting
• Rublev clinched his second ATP match win in the 1R, recovering from a slow start to beat Pablo Carreno Busta 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. At 17y 5m, Rublev is the third-youngest player to win a match in Miami history, behind Fabrice Santoro (17y 3m) in 1990 and Boris Becker (17y 2m) in 1985.
• Rublev captured his first ATP World Tour match last month in Delray Beach, overcoming Dudi Sela in the 1R before falling to Steve Johnson. His other two tour-level wins came in Davis Cup.
• Since August 2013, Rublev has won four Futures titles in six finals.
• Rublev is the current world No. 1 in the ITF Junior rankings. He is the reigning Roland Garros junior champion.
• Isner is set to make his eighth appearance in Miami. He has reached the 4R here twice, in 2011 (l. to Anderson) and 2014 (l. to Berdych).
• Isner arrives in Florida off the back of a 4R loss to Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells.
• Isner went into Indian Wells on a four-match losing streak having fallen in the Memphis QF (l. to Querrey), the 1R at Delray Beach (l. to Matosevic) and in both his singles rubbers at Davis Cup (l. to Ward 15-13 in the 5th, Murray).
• Isner ended 2014 as the top-ranked American for the third straight season, finishing in the Top 20 for the fifth year in a row. He won two titles in Auckland (d. Lu) and Atlanta (d. Sela).
Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) vs [5] Milos Raonic (CAN)
FedEx Head2Head: First ATP World Tour meeting
• Gabashvili pulled off a 0-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 comeback win over Pablo Andujar in the 1R.
• Gabashvili is making his fifth appearance in the Miami Open main draw. He reached the 2R on all four of his previous outings also, but has never gone beyond this stage.
• Gabashvili arrived in Florida with an 0-6 record this season after falling in the 1R in Doha (l. to Verdasco), Australian Open (l. to Baghdatis), Memphis (l. to Dodig), Delray Beach (l. to Dolgopolov), Acapulco (l. to Karlovic) and Indian Wells (l. to Monaco).
• In 2014, Gabashvili finished in the Top 70 for the second time (also 2008) with a career-high 19 match wins. He reached three QFs.
• Raonic is back at the Miami Open for the fifth time. His best showing was a QF appearance last season (l. to Nadal in 3 sets). He pulled out ahead of his 3R match here in both 2012 and 2013.
• At Indian Wells, Raonic saved three MPs en route to a first win over Rafael Nadal, putting the Canadian into a fifth career ATP Masters 1000 SF (l. to Federer). He was the first player from his country to beat Nadal.
• Raonic has now reached the QF or better at eight of his last 10 ATP Masters 1000 events.
• Raonic opened his season with a run to the Brisbane final (l. to Federer). He also reached SFs in Rotterdam (l. to Wawrinka) and Indian Wells, and the QF at the Australian Open (l. to Djokovic).
• Five of Raonic’s six defeats in 2015 have come at the hands of Top 10 opposition. His only defeat that didn’t was a three-set loss to Simone Bolelli in his opening match in Marseille.
• In 2014, Raonic became the first player from his country to end a season in the Top 10 after winning a personal-best 49 matches and capturing a sixth career title – and first at ATP 500 level – in Washington (d. Pospisil in first all-Canadian ATP final).
[19] Pablo Cuevas (URU) vs Thomaz Bellucci (BRA)
FedEx Head2Head: Cuevas leads 1-0
• Cuevas returns to Miami for the fourth time and for the first time since 2011. On his last visit, he reached the 3R for the first time with a win over world No. 8 Andy Roddick (l. to Simon in 3 sets).
• Cuevas advanced to the 3R at Indian Wells for the first time with a win over Jarkko Nieminen (l. to F. Lopez in 3 sets).
• Cuevas impressed during the Golden Swing last month, clinching a third ATP World Tour title in São Paulo (d. Vanni in a 3rd set TB) and reaching the QFs in Rio de Janeiro (l. to Nadal in 3 sets in the second-latest finish on the ATP World Tour – 3:18am) and Buenos Aires (l. to Monaco).
• Cuevas rose to a career-high world No. 21 this week. He is the highest ranked Uruguayan in Emirates ATP Rankings history.
• In 2014, Cuevas returned from a right knee injury to finish at a year-end high No. 30, climbing 191 places during season. He won his first two ATP World Tour titles within a 3-week span in July, capturing trophies in Båstad (d. Sousa) and Umag (d. Robredo). He was the first Uruguayan winner on tour since Marcelo Filippini in St. Poelten in May 1997.
• Bellucci overcame former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt 7-5, 6-7(2), 6-4 in his opening match.
• Bellucci is making his sixth appearance at the Miami Open. His best run came in 2010 when he reached the 4R (l. to Almagro in a 3rd set TB).
• Bellucci arrived in Florida after a 1R loss to Sergiy Stakhovsky at the Irving Challenger. He also fell in the opening round at Indian Wells (l. to Bolelli in 3 sets).
• Bellucci’s best showing this year was a SF outing at the inaugural tournament in Quito at the beginning of February (l. to Estrella Burgos).
• In 2014, Bellucci finished in the Top 75 for the fifth time in the past six years (except ’13) with his best result a SF on home soil in São Paulo (l. to Delbonis). He also reached five QFs.
COURT 1
[12] Gilles Simon (FRA) vs Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ)
FedEx Head2Head: Simon leads 1-0
[21] Fabio Fognini (ITA) vs Jack Sock (USA)
FedEx Head2Head: First ATP World Tour meeting
Federico Delbonis (ARG) vs [6] David Ferrer (ESP)
FedEx Head2Head: Ferrer leads 1-0
Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) vs [16] Tommy Robredo(ESP)
FedEx Head2Head: First ATP World Tour meeting
COURT 2
[17] Gael Monfils (FRA) vs [Q] Filip Krajinovic (SRB)
FedEx Head2Head: First ATP World Tour meeting
• Monfils will contest his first match in three weeks after recovering from the knee injury that forced him out of Indian Wells.
• Monfils is making his eighth appearance at the Miami Open. The Frenchman, who has reached the 4R here twice, fell to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in his opening match last year.
• After a 2R loss to Jerzy Janowicz at the Australian Open, Monfils reached the QF-or-better at all three tournaments he contested in February: Montpellier (l. to Gasquet in SF), Rotterdam (l. to Berdych in QF) and Marseille (l. to Simon in final).
• Monfils’ last competitive outing came at the beginning of March, when he defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber in France’s Davis Cup World Group 1R win over Germany.
• In 2014, Monfils finished in the Top 20 for the first time since 2011 and fifth time overall, winning a fifth career title in Montpellier (d. Gasquet). Also advanced to QFs at Roland Garros and US Open.
• Krajinovic clinched his first ever win at the Miami Open in the 1R, defeating Dusan Lajovic when his fellow Serb withdrew while trailing 4-2 in the deciding set. Krajinovic saved four MPs in the second set.
• Krajinovic’s only other Miami appearance came in 2010 when he fell in the 1R to James Blake.
• Krajinovic’s 1R victory was his first ATP World Tour match win of the season. His other win came over Franko Skugor in the dead rubber of Serbia’s Davis Cup win over Croatia.
• Krajinovic came through qualifying at Indian Wells only to fall to Igor Sijsling in the 1R.
• In 2014, Krajinovic finished at a year-end best No. 101 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, climbing 125 places from the previous season.
[31] Jeremy Chardy (FRA) vs Jurgen Melzer (AUT)
FedEx Head2Head: Melzer leads 2-1
[18] David Goffin (BEL) vs Borna Coric (CRO)
FedEx Head2Head: Goffin leads 1-0
COURT 6
[26] Lukas Rosol (CZE) vs [Q] Alexander Zverev (GER)
FedEx Head2Head: Rosol leads 1-0
[29] Fernando Verdasco (ESP) vs [Q] James Duckworth(AUS)
To be finished: 1-0
FedEx Head2Head: Verdasco leads 1-0
[Q] Alejandro Falla (COL) vs [20] Ivo Karlovic (CRO)
FedEx Head2Head: Series tied 1-1
[Q] Steve Darcis (BEL) vs [30] Gilles Muller (LUX)
FedEx Head2Head: Muller leads 1-0
COURT 7
Albert Ramos-Viñolas (ESP) vs [28] Adrian Mannarino(FRA)
To be finished: 4-6, 6-3, 1-1
FedEx Head2Head: Ramos-Viñolas leads 1-0
[14] Ernests Gulbis (LAT) vs Juan Monaco (ARG)
FedEx Head2Head: Monaco leads 3-2
• Gulbis is making his sixth appearance at the Miami Open. Since winning his opening match here in 2008, defeating Dominik Hrbaty, the Latvian has gone on a five-match losing streak at this tournament.
• Gulbis clinched his first win of the season at Indian Wells, defeating Daniel Gimeno-Traver before falling in the next round to Adrian Mannarino.
• Gulbis opened the season 0-5, suffering opening round losses in Auckland (l. to Vesely), Australian Open (l. to Kokkinakis after holding 4 MPs), Rotterdam (l. to Thiem), Marseille (l. to Chardy) and Dubai (l. to Istomin).
• In 2014, Gulbis finished a season in the Top 20 for the first time at a year-end high No. 13, reaching the QF or better 11 times and winning a career-high 41 matches. He improved his record in ATP finals to 6-0 with titles in Marseille (d. Tsonga) and a first on clay in Nice (d. Delbonis).
• Monaco opened his campaign with a 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-4 win over qualifierRuben Bemelmans.
• Monaco is returning to Miami for the 12th time. He reached the SF here in 2012 with wins over world No. 14 Gael Monfils and No. 8 Mardy Fish (l. to Djokovic).
• Monaco posted his first hard-court wins of the year at Indian Wells, edging past Teymuraz Gabashvili before upsetting Marin Cilic on the Croat’s return from injury (l. to Kokkinakis in 3R).
• Monaco advanced to his 20th ATP World Tour final in Buenos Aires last month (l. to Nadal). He also made the QF in Rio de Janeiro (l. to Ferrer). The Argentine opened the season 0-4.
• In 2014, Monaco finished a season outside the Top 50 for the first time since 2006 after compiling a 22-20 record.
COURT 8
Simone Bolelli (ITA) vs [32] Viktor Troicki (SRB)
FedEx Head2Head: Troicki leads 2-1
Jerzy Janowicz (POL) vs [13] Roberto Bautista Agut(ESP)
FedEx Head2Head: Janowicz leads 1-0
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