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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."

[ATP APP]

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.”

[ATP APP]

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.

The third-round action begins on Sunday at the Miami Open presented by Itau, where Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud and Taylor Fritz continue their title quests at the second ATP Masters 1000 of the year.

Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner are also in action on a day when seeded stars clash for the first time at this year’s event. ATPTour.com looks at some of the key third-round matchups on show in south Florida.

View Schedule | View Draw

[ATP APP]

[1] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) vs. Dusan Lajovic (SRB)

“I try not to think about [being] the defending champion,” said Alcaraz when asked if he feels the pressure of defending his title. “I'm trying not to think about [that] I won last year. I always say the same when I come into a tournament: for me it is a new tournament. It's day by day, round by round. I try to play my best every day, try to enjoy every match.”

Back at his career-high No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Felix Auger-Aliassime needed every ounce of his Top 10 experience to overcome the spirited Thiago Monteiro on Saturday at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

The Canadian prevailed 7-6(5), 7-6(8) to down the Brazilian World No. 81 in a match that featured no breaks of serve. Auger-Aliassime let slip four match points in a dramatic second-set tie-break, but Monteiro pushed a volley wide on his fifth as the 22-year-old wrapped a hard-earned two-hour, 41-minute triumph in front of a raucous Grandstand crowd.

“After the first set, I felt a little bit better," said Auger-Aliassime after his win. "I was giving myself chances… He came up with some good serves and great shots every time, so [I just had to] keep driving, keep trying, keep moving forward and keep staying positive. I think that was the key today, to just stay strong mentally.”

[ATP APP]

Auger-Aliassime has reached at least the quarter-finals in the past six ATP Masters 1000 events. Whether he can turn that consistency into a first title win at that level will likely depend on his ability to raise his game at key moments, and he was certainly forced to show plenty of mettle to pull through against a fired-up Monteiro.

Harri Heliovaara is one of the best doubles players in the world. The Finnish star is also a member of the ATP Player Advisory Council, elected by his peers to represent players from No. 1-75 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings.

On Monday, the Player Advisory Council met in Florida ahead of the Miami Open presented by Itau. ATPTour.com spoke to Heliovaara, who is in his first term as a council member, about his experience so far, what was discussed in the meeting and why he feels his position is a "big role".

What was your takeaway from the Miami Player Advisory Council meeting?
This was my first meeting because I missed the first one in Melbourne. I was still playing in Adelaide exactly at the same time as the meeting was, so this was my first time actually seeing [what it is like].

What was the experience like?
It was cool. My whole background is such that I’ve been in the business life for a couple of years. I didn’t play tennis for five years, so the setting is somehow familiar. You have a meeting room with a lot of people, someone on Zoom and everybody gathered around a table. It’s a nice situation we had.

We had a lot of experienced guys — not in the Player Advisory Council — but the player representatives and the board and the people from the ATP. There were more people than I expected, but [there were] very good discussions, [I am] learning a lot.

Dusan Lajovic has spent time in two special places this year: Middle Earth and Planet Alcaraz. On Sunday, the Serbian will try to invoke the spirit of the former to conquer the latter when he faces World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the third round of the Miami Open presented by Itau.

Lord of the Rings fan Lajovic has lost all three of his previous ATP Head2Head meetings with Alcaraz, but he is excited to give it another shot against the defending champion inside Hard Rock Stadium.

“I think the unique thing is how much he loves the pressure points. He’s got a great forehand, great backhand, great drop shot. He feels the game really good. He’s got really good instincts,” Lajovic told ATPTour.com. “But this is what I feel like is separating him from the rest of the other guys that are up and coming.

“I can’t compare him to Novak, Rafa and Roger obviously. But from the rest of the guys, he just plays his best tennis when it’s most needed.”

[BREAK POINT]

Carlos Alcaraz was excited to participate in Miami Open Unites again this year to support the local community, but was unable to make it because he won the BNP Paribas Open Sunday evening. That did not stop the World No. 1, though.

The 19-year-old on Saturday afternoon met with two dogs from the Humane Society of Greater Miami, Brisket and Isabella, to help improve their chances of adoption and a better life.

“I have a little dog at home, so I love to spend time with her, she’s a girl,” Alcaraz said. “I love the company of dogs. I love animals. When I was a little kid, I had a big dog as well, so I love them.”

Photo Credit: Andrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour
Brisket is a terrier mix and Isabella is a German Shepherd. They posed for photos on the grass field next to Stadium Court inside Hard Rock Stadium.

Alcaraz greatly enjoyed relaxing with the pair before playing his third-round match at the Miami Open presented by Itau on Sunday against Dusan Lajovic. Last year, the teen visited the Miami Rescue Mission with Pablo Carreno Busta, Paula Badosa and Ons Jabeur to feed those in need of meals.

In the midst of a breakthrough season on the ATP Tour, Jiri Lehecka on Saturday added to his list of first-time achievements for 2023 by taking out 18th seed Lorenzo Musetti at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

The 21-year-old Czech triumphed 6-4, 6-4 inside Hard Rock Stadium to reach the third round of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time. Lehecka, who reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final at January’s Australian Open, broke Musetti’s serve once in each set for an 80-minute win.

2022: 13 wins
2023: 1️⃣4️⃣ already!@jirilehecka continues his impressive @MiamiOpen debut 6-4, 6-4 over No.18 seed Musetti #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/GxP7KSGAH3

In a meeting of 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals competitors, it was Lehecka who looked the more comfortable with the fast court conditions in Miami. He fired 25 winners and showcased some fine net skills to go with his rasping groundstrokes — Lehecka claimed 76 per cent (29/38) of points in which he moved forward.

Lehecka claimed his maiden win at Masters 1000 level against Arthur Rinderknech in Indian Wells two weeks ago before falling to Andrey Rublev. He climbed four spots to No. 40 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, just three places short of his career high, after dispatching Federico Coria and Musetti in straight sets in Miami.

Qualifying player members are sharing in the ATP's strong financial performance in 2022 through a record contribution to the ATP Player Retirement Plan. Contributions to individual player retirement accounts hit $167,900 in 2022 following a year in which the ATP saw growth in data value and revenue from the transfer of tournament licences, including those of ATP Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Cincinnati.

A total of 165 players received a contribution into the Retirement Plan for 2022. Formally established in 1990, the plan currently makes payments to 300 players, who receive funds for 20 years, beginning at age 50.

"I remember the first year I qualified for a contribution it was $10,000," said Australian veteran and ATP Player Advisory Council member Matthew Ebden, who has been on Tour for 17 years. "Although 2022 was unusually large due to strong revenue coming into the Tour, the annual contribution has been steadily growing over time. The returns of the fund have been good and certainly for players who have been on the tour for a few years, the plan is something in their thoughts.

"Not everyone has the career of a Roger, Rafa or Novak, and the pension plan is a key part of many players' financial security after 50.”

[ATP APP]Contributions to the Retirement Plan for 2022 alone topped US$27.7m, more than double the $12.7m deposited in 2019. Historically, players needed five years of vesting in the plan to be eligible for payments from age 50, In 2018 a partial vesting component was created for players with three years vesting.

Japan’s Taro Daniel continued his hot early-season form and snuffed out Alexander Zverev’s recent revival when he stunned the former World No. 2 6-0, 6-4 in the second round of the Miami Open presented by Itau on Friday night.

World No. 97 Daniel, who also upset former Top 10 player Matteo Berrettini en route to the Indian Wells third round two weeks ago, improved to 8-4 on the season after going 13-19 last year.

On the comeback trail after a devastating ankle injury suffered in the Roland Garros semi-finals last year, Zverev sprayed 32 unforced errors to Daniel’s 13.

“In the first set he was struggling and I just didn’t want to let him get his rhythm back,” Daniel said. “Sometimes it’s a matter of letting them keep playing badly. It’s a little bit of a dirty fight.”

Zvervev, who has won five ATP Masters 1000 titles along with his two Nitto ATP Finals crowns, had been working his way back into form at his past two tournaments. In Indian Wells he pushed Daniil Medvedev to 7-5 in the third set in the fourth round, which followed his run to the Dubai semi-finals.

Should Casper Ruud be hoping to jump-start his 2023 season in Miami, scene of his first ATP Masters 1000 final last year, he's made a solid start. On Friday night Ruud enjoyed a 6-2, 6-3 win over World No. 80 Ilya Ivashka to breeze into the third round.

The 24-year-old World No. 4, who is just 5-5 on the season, will now look to claim consecutive wins for the first time this year when he next meets 26th seed Botic van de Zandschulp, of The Netherlands.

“I want to believe one match will turn it around but there are still a lot of matches to be played with a lot of good players left in the tournament,” Ruud said. “It’s been almost two weeks since I’ve played a match after taking an early loss in Indian Wells. I worked hard and came into Miami with great memories from last year.”

[ATP APP]The nine-time ATP Tour titlist, who also reached last year's Roland Garros, US Open and Nitto ATP Finals title matches, dropped just six points on his first serve and converted four of eight break point opportunities.

The Norwegian enjoyed a clean match with 21 winners to 13 unforced errors and benefitted from Ivashka's 23 unforced errors.

Austin Krajicek and Nicolas Mahut's team debut proved a memorable one on Friday evening.

The American-French duo upset 2021 champions Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic 6-3, 6-7(6), 10-7 to reach the second round of the Miami Open presented by Itau. They rallied from a mini-break down in the Match Tie-break and took advantage of a costly Pavic double fault.

Krajicek and Mahut will next play Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez, who eliminated Jaume Munar and Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2, 7-6(3). They are competing together this week because Krajicek's usual partner, Ivan Dodig, is out with an injury.

[BREAK POINT]

At January’s Australian Open, Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski won just four games in quarter-final defeat against eventual champions Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler.

The seeded stars in the bottom half of the Miami Open presented by Itau draw begin their campaigns on Saturday, when Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Felix Auger-Aliassime will be in action.

The second seed Tsitsipas takes on Frenchman Richard Gasquet, while fourth seed Medvedev will look to build on his run to the final in Indian Wells against Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena. Fifth seed Auger-Aliassime takes on Thiago Monteiro.

Hubert Hurkacz, Cameron Norrie and Ben Shelton will also take to court in Miami. ATPTour.com runs through some of the key second-round matchups on show.

View Draw | View Schedule

[2] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs. Richard Gasquet (FRA)

The second seed will be hoping his troubles are behind him as he aims to bounce back in Miami, starting against Gasquet.