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Taylor Fritz knew he would be in for a fierce battle Thursday when he met World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz for the first time. But perhaps it was a more eye-opening experience than the American initially thought.

The Spaniard needed just one hour, 18 minutes to down Fritz 6-4, 6-2 in Thursday’s quarter-final at the Miami Open presented by Itau. Following the match, the 25-year-old was full of praise of the 2022 US Open champion’s repertoire.

“It's what I have seen for a while now. I said it a year ago when I watched him play, for how young he is, he just has all the tools,” Fritz said in his post-match press conference. “He can come to net, dropshot you, lob you, he's incredibly fast, he has all the power, his forehand is good, his backhand is good.

“It's very rare to see someone so young so developed in their game and not really have anything that they need to work on so much. He has tonnes of different ways to play, and he can incorporate tonnes of different game plans to play different players because he has so many tools to win a match.”

A five-time tour titlist, Fritz said there was never a ‘gimme’ moment from Alcaraz as the Spaniard used every inch of the court to display superb shotmaking.

Pete Sampras is a retired American professional tennis player who is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. He was born on August 12, 1971, in Washington D.C., and grew up in California. Sampras turned professional in 1988 at the age of 16, and quickly rose through the ranks of the tennis world. He won his first Grand Sl...

Do we have an early three-way battle for year-end World No. 1 on our hands?

In charging into his fifth consecutive final in Miami Friday, Daniil Medvedev surpassed Novak Djokovic in first place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

Defending Miami champion Carlos Alcaraz, who is third in the Race, can also pass Djokovic and pull to within just 80 points of Medvedev should he win his fourth ATP Masters 1000 title on Sunday. Should that scenario play out, just 200 points will separate the trio.

View Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin

The Race is an indicator of which eight players will qualify for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, to be played 12-19 November in Turin, and who will be crowned Year-End ATP No. 1 presented by Pepperstone.

On Thursday at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar, Rafael Nadal received a replica of the sculpture that was unveiled at Roland Garros in May 2021.

Gilles Moretton, President of the French Tennis Federation, and Amelie Mauresmo, Director of Roland Garros, travelled to Spain to present the replica to Rafa in person.

The replica (1/10 scale of the original piece) has been given a special location in the Rafa Nadal Museum, which houses all the trophies Rafa has won throughout his career.

Nadal said, ”Roland Garros is the most important place in my career and I’m very happy to have that statue there. Being able to have this replica here, in my home town, at the Museum and in a place that is so close to me, for my family and for my team makes it even more special. I’m very grateful to everyone who has made it possible and it is now here, alongside my trophies, so that everyone can come and see it."

Mauresmo said, “The values and the spirit at the Rafa Nadal Academy are exactly what Rafa as a person is: Humble, well educated and a hard worker. Those are among the values that makes him what he is as a player and as a human being. The players we saw at the academy are in very good hands and on a personal level, I am very happy to have had the chance to share these special moment with Rafa himself.”

Daniil Medvedev reached his second consecutive ATP Masters 1000 final on Friday when he clawed past long-term friend Karen Khachanov 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-3 at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

Medvedev has passed Novak Djokovic and moved to top spot in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. He will look to continue his strong season in Sunday's final as he aims to challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Djokovic for the No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Ranking this season.

Medvedev, who rose through the junior and professional ranks with Khachanov, now leads the 26-year-old 4-1 in their ATP Head2Head series. The fourth seed will meet Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner in the championship match on Sunday in his fifth consecutive final.

The 27-year-old is 28-3 on the season, having won 23 of his past 24 matches. Medvedev, who lifted trophies in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai during that run, has now advanced to the final at all hard-court ATP Masters 1000 events. He lost to Alcaraz in the championship match in Indian Wells earlier this month.

"I think I made six finals [in a row] in 2019, so I have some margin," Medvedev said when reflecting on reaching five consecutive finals. "It is a pity it is clay season after, but I am going to try. I am really happy with my results so far but it is not over. Final on Sunday and I have to be at my best to try to win it.

For the second time this month, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will face off in the semi-finals at an ATP Masters 1000 event when they meet on Friday at the Miami Open presented by Itau. (Watch the semi-final from 7pm ET/1am CET)

At the BNP Paribas Open, the 19-year-old Alcaraz overcame the 21-year-old Sinner in straight sets, before he defeated Daniil Medvedev in the final to triumph in Indian Wells and rise to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Fast forward two weeks and Sinner will be eager for revenge in the latest chapter of their growing rivalry.

Aiming to become the youngest player to win the ‘Sunshine Double’, the defending champion Alcaraz has continued to bring the heat in Miami. The top seed has blitzed through the field at the hard-court event, not dropping a set en route to his fourth semi-final of the season. After defeating Facundo Bagnis and Dusan Lajovic in his first two matches, Alcaraz crushed seeds Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz to set a blockbuster semi-final against Sinner.

"I've played against him in the final rounds of tournaments. That means he is playing a great level," said Alcaraz, who will have 24 hours less recovery time than the Italian due to rain disrupting the Miami quarter-final schedule. "I am sure that we are going to play for big things in the future. I can't wait to see our [improvement]."

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We are pleased that all players will have an opportunity to compete at Wimbledon and LTA events this summer. It has taken a collaborative effort across the sport to arrive at a workable solution which protects the fairness of the game. This remains an extremely difficult situation and we would like to thank Wimbledon and the LTA for their efforts in reaching this outcome, while reiterating our unequivocal condemnation of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Daniil Medvedev joked about being a hard-court specialist at the BNP Paribas Open. His next opponent, longtime friend Karen Khachanov, has proven a tough foe at the biggest hard-court tournaments in the world over the past six months.

“When you go deep in this tournament, you don't have big time to prepare on clay unfortunately,” Khachanov said in response to a question about his clay-court preparation. “But it's at the same time fortunate because you are playing well here, so it's like a sweet problem to have, I would say.”

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Khachanov has now made the semi-finals at three of the biggest tournaments in the world over the past six months: last year’s US Open, this year’s Australian Open and now the Miami Open presented by Itau.

The 14th seed lost a set in his opening match of the tournament against Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry, but he has not looked back. The 26-year-old has not dropped a set since, including wins against Australian Open quarter-finalist Jiri Lehecka, second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and 2022 Miami semi-finalist Francisco Cerundolo.

Both doubles semi-finals went the distance on Thursday at the Miami Open presented by Itau, with a pair of Match Tie-breaks deciding the finalists at the ATP Masters 1000 event. Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin will face Austin Krajicek and Nicolas Mahut in Saturday's title match after both teams won their second Match Tie-break in as many matches to advance to the trophy round.

Gonzalez/Roger-Vasselin edged Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 6-4, 5-7, 12-10 to back up their quarter-final upset of top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski. The unseeded Mexican-French pair also knocked off seventh seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the opening round.

A single break of serve decided both sets before Gonzalez/Roger-Vasselin clinched victory on their third match point of the Match Tie-break.

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Krajicek/Mahut were 5-7, 7-5, 10-8 winners against Kevin Krawietz and Fabrice Martin thanks to their third Match Tie-break win of the tournament, the first of which came against third seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in the first round.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have quickly formed one of the most exciting rivalries on the ATP Tour.

Possessing thunderous groundstrokes and incredible agility, the 19-year-old Spaniard and 21-year-old Italian have already clashed on the biggest stages and are poised to do so plenty in the next decade.

With Alcaraz leading Sinner 3-2 in their ATP Head2Head series, they will meet again on Friday in the semi-finals at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

“I [am] happy to play against him again because I look forward to these kind of matches,” Sinner said when looking ahead to the clash. “I feel like he makes me a better player. Here the court is fast. I think we both feel good here on these courts.”

Ahead of their sixth encounter, ATPTour.com looks at three of their past blockbusters.

Facing a high-level performance from home favourite Taylor Fritz at the Miami Open presented by Itau, Carlos Alcaraz proved once again that he is all but untouchable at his best. In a Thursday night quarter-final, the World No. 1 kept the American at arm's length in an efficient 6-4, 6-2 victory to continue his quest for the Sunshine Double — a rare title sweep across Indian Wells and Miami.

"A little bit of nerves at the beginning of the match. It was new for me, playing against him," Alcaraz said of his first meeting with Fritz. "I knew that I had to play my game, the way that I was playing the previous matches, a high level for me. Of course I'm very happy with the way I started the match, with no mistakes and with a lot of power. It was a key for me to break his serve at the beginning and then [play] my game."

Needing to retain his Miami crown to remain atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Alcaraz did his damage early in both sets, taking control with an instant break of serve in each. Fritz fought back well in the opener and was arguably the better player after the first game, but Alcaraz erased two break points — both in supreme style with half-volleys — to cling to his lead.

With both men eager to attack, Alcaraz again landed the first blow in set two. This time, he was more assured in closing out the set, rattling off the final three games to secure the win in one hour, 18 minutes. Both men finished with 20 winners, but Alcaraz kept his unforced error count down to 13 while Fritz committed 28 miscues. The Spaniard won three of his five break points, converting in each game in which he created a break opportunity.

Both Alcaraz and Fritz entered Thursday with 2-0 season records against Top 10 opponents. With the victory, his 10th in a row, Alcaraz improved to 18-1 overall in 2023. He is now two wins from becoming the first man since Roger Federer in 2017 to claim the trophies at Indian Wells and Miami in succession.

A familiar foursome makes up the semi-final lineup at the Miami Open presented by Itau. Three repeat semi-finalists from Indian Wells — Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner — are joined by Karen Khachanov, who reached that stage at each of the past two majors.

The first of Friday's two matchups will see good friends Medvedev and Khachanov become foes, with the fourth-seeded Medvedev seeking a fifth straight ATP Tour final.

After seeing a 19-match and three-tournament winning streak snapped by Alcaraz in the Indian Wells final, Medvedev said it was time to start a new streak. He's emphatically done that in Miami, where he has not lost a set in three victories, in addition to a third-round walkover.

"[I'm] in confidence now. I'm playing well, starting from Rotterdam," said Medvedev, who also won titles in Doha and Dubai on his flawless run. "I managed to bring this [level] here, because it was not that easy," he added, referring to the transition from slower conditions in Indian Wells to the faster surface in Miami, as well as the three-day gap between his first and second matches due to the walkover.

After ending the dream run of Christopher Eubanks in Thursday's quarter-finals, Medvedev faces his toughest test of the tournament in Khachanov. The opponents grew up together, rising through the junior and professional ranks at the same time. But neither was a heralded junior until Khachanov began to break through with some big wins around age 15 or 16, as Medvedev recalled.

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. 

While Daniil Medvedev did not exactly deliver that coaching cliche in his Thursday press conference at the Miami Open presented by Itau, he did explain the importance of both factors in his success — and the forces that drive him to push himself in training.

Discussing his mental strength, Medvedev explained the focus he puts on that aspect of his game, stemming from his hatred of losing.

"You never know what's more important, talent or hard work. Actually both are," he said. "Starting from when I was really young, no matter which game I play, I hate to lose. So I actually hate to lose more than I like to win, and you can kind of see this on the court. I think that's a good thing.

"But if you don't work [at] it, that can become a bad thing, because that's when you can sometimes maybe stop practising hard, because that's going to release some pressure off you. If you don't practise hard, you say, 'Yeah, well, I lost the match because I didn't practise well enough.' That's a little bit weak."

Karen Khachanov advanced to the semi-finals at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time since 2019 Thursday when he moved past Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 6-2 at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

After falling a break down in the first set, the 26-year-old quickly recovered to ensure it was one-way traffic from then. The big-hitting 14th seed crushed 18 winners and drove the ball through the quick court to force Cerundolo into errors, sealing his victory after 75 minutes.

Cerundolo entered the match holding an 8-1 record in Miami, having soared to the semi-finals on debut last year. The 24-year-old was unable to earn his first victory against Khachanov and reach the last four again, however, committing 22 unforced errors.

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Khachanov won his only ATP Masters 1000 title in Paris in 2018, before he advanced to the semi-finals in Toronto in 2019. He will continue the quest for his fifth tour-level title and first since Paris five years ago when he plays Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals.

Daniil Medvedev reached the semi-finals at the Miami Open presented by Itau for the first time Thursday when he overcame qualifier Christopher Eubanks 6-3, 7-5 to end the American's dream run in South Florida.

In a rain-disrupted clash, the fourth seed absorbed Eubanks' powerful serve and hit through the middle of the court to cut off angles. He struck a number of winners past the onrushing Eubanks, who closed the net frequently, while he recovered from squandering a break advantage in the second set to advance after one hour and 30 minutes.

"I didn't play my best before [the rain delay]. The rain helped me go out and have more energy," Medvedev said on the rain delay which suspended play at 2-3 in the first set. "It helped me and I only played better and better, apart from one bad game on my serve, but it happens."

Medvedev, who fell at the quarter-final stage in Miami in 2021 and 2022, will aim to reach his fifth consecutive tour-level final when he faces Karen Khachanov or Francisco Cerundolo in the last four.

The 27-year-old is now 27-3 on the season, having won 22 of his past 23 matches. Medvedev has lifted trophies in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai during that run and reached the final in Indian Wells, where World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz ended his 19-match winning streak.

A dream week became even dreamier for Christopher Eubanks on Thursday at the Miami Open presented by Itau. The American received a rain delay pep talk from global superstar Jamie Foxx before returning to the court to resume his match against Daniil Medvedev.

“Chris Who-Banks? Chris Eubanks!” Foxx yelled across the turf field inside Hard Rock Stadium as Eubanks prepared to return to the court. “Come on baby, what we looking like?”

Just a casual @iamjamiefoxx pep talk... @miamiopen rain delays hit different ? @chris_eubanks96 #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/ltRtRT9TBk

Foxx, who has become a good friend of Eubanks’ over the past few years, broke the fourth wall by speaking to the nearby camera about the former Georgia Tech star, who has enjoyed the best week of his career.

“Here we are with my man Chris, man. He’s got everybody by the heart, right in there,” Foxx said. “Everybody [is] rooting for him, we came out here to support him.

Editor's note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es

The conditions, the climate, the number of Argentinians supporting him in every match of the tournament, the relaxation brought by the city’s beaches, the memories of happiness when he first discovered Crandon Park as a child... There are many reasons for Francisco Cerundolo’s extraordinary success competing at the Miami Open presented by Itau, where one year ago he was a semi-finalist on his ATP Masters 1000 debut and now is in the quarter-finals.

But there is another factor that is just as important: superstition.

“Since last year, at this tournament, we’ve had several superstitions. And they must be respected,” explained Cerundolo’s Argentine coach Kevin Konfederak. “One of the superstitions is returning to the restaurant where we eat and having the same meal. And everyone knows what they have to order. But I can’t say any more because I don’t want to jinx it.”

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Christopher Eubanks has enjoyed a dream run at the Miami Open presented by Itau, where he is set to play Daniil Medvedev in his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final.

The American has received an outpouring of support from the fans, peers and even celebrities. Learn more about Eubanks in this edition of Five Things To Know.

Chris Played College Tennis
Eubanks admits he was never one of the United States’ leading juniors. The final year he competed in the USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships, otherwise known as Kalamazoo, he was unseeded. So the American opted to attend Georgia Tech, where he was named ACC Player of the Year twice in his three years competing as a student-athlete.

By his third year on the team, Eubanks became a dominant force, tallying an 18-2 record at No. 1 singles and a 31-6 mark overall. He advanced to the quarter-finals of the NCAA Singles Championships, becoming the first from the school to achieve the feat since Bryan Shelton, father of Eubanks’ good friend Ben Shelton.

He Will Crack The Top 100 For The First Time Monday
It has been a memorable week for Eubanks in Miami. Entering the tournament, his career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking was No. 102. By defeating Gregoire Barrere in the third round, the home favourite guaranteed that he would crack the Top 100 for the first time.

Quarter-final action at the Miami Open presented by Itau continues Thursday, when two scheduled matches along with the postponed Carlos Alcaraz-Taylor Fritz clash are on the card.

Daniil Medvedev is one of the most in-form players on Tour, but the fourth seed will have to end the dream run of home favourite Christopher Eubanks in Florida if he wants to reach his fifth consecutive ATP Tour semi-final. Meanwhile Karen Khachanov looks to back up his fourth-round victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas when he faces 2022 semi-finalist Francisco Cerundolo.

ATPTour.com breaks down Thursday’s quarter-final action in southern Florida.

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Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin didn't need to wait long to avenge their semi-final loss to last year's World No. 1 doubles pair Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski in Indian Wells. On Wednesday in Miami the duo rallied from a set down to upset the Miami top seeds 4-6, 7-6(5), 10-5 to reach their second consecutive ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.

The Mexican-French pairing will next meet the winner of Nathaniel Lammons/Jackson Withrow and Lloyd Glasspool/Harri Heliovaara, who were locked at 3/4 on serve in a match tie-break when rain halted play for the evening.

In the only other completed doubles result Wednesday, German Kevin Krawietz and Frenchman Fabrice Martin defeated American singles stars Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the semi-finals. They next will play American Austin Krajicek and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut.