Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro headline Miami Open field
Roger Federer will bid for fourth triumph in Florida as he defends his title at Crandon Park.
Thursday 22 March 2018 17:34, UK
After Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro played out a thrilling BNP Paribas Open final at Indian Wells, the Masters 1000 action continues as the ATP Tour heads for the Miami Open, live on Sky Sports Arena throughout the week.
The big-serving Argentinian captured his maiden Masters 1000 title in the Californian desert with a three-set victory over the world No 1, to hand Federer his first defeat of the season.
Federer will be the top seed in Miami as he defends the title he won last year, but the tournament takes on an intriguing complexion after the dramatic Indian Wells final, which saw Del Potro save three match points against the 20-time Grand Slam champion.
In the continued absences of Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray through injury and Novak Djokovic's search for form after a long-standing elbow complaint, the Indian Wells finalists are expected to perform well at Crandon Park, Florida.
Federer will open his campaign on Saturday in the second round against a qualifier before a potential third-round encounter against veteran Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.
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The Swiss player is projected to then meet 16th seed Pablo Carreno Busta in the fourth round while the in-form Kevin Anderson and Alexander Zverev are prospective quarter-final and semi-final opponents.
Del Potro, back inside the world's top 10, will meet either Yuichi Sugita or Robin Haase in his opening match with an intriguing third tussle against Kei Nishikori lying in wait and Novak Djokovic also in the same quarter of the draw.
Two NextGen stars Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev have been drawn against each other in a match-up which is sure to thrill the watching public.
One to watch
Milos Raonic made an encouraging return to Masters 1000 tennis at Indian Wells, after his injury travails of last year, with a run to the semi-finals before losing to eventual winner Del Potro.
The big-hitting Canadian possesses the game to make another deep run in Miami and has a favourable draw which could see the Wimbledon finalist progress to a heavyweight fourth-round meeting with Grigor Dimitrov.
Raonic, who was forced to miss last year's edition in Florida with a hamstring injury, has never progressed past the quarter-finals but his counterparts will be fully aware of his credentials.
As with Del Potro, should Raonic be able to maintain his fitness he will surely challenge for titles at both the regular tour events but also on the Grand Slam stage.
Brit Watch
Kyle Edmund will be desperate to rediscover the excellent form which saw the British No 1 reach the Australian Open semi-finals in January, as the American hard court swing comes towards an end and focus begins to shift towards the clay court season.
The 23-year-old suffered an opening-match defeat to Israel's Dudi Sela at the BNP Paribas Open and this time around will open his campaign against the winner of the contest between Frances Tiafoe or Nicolas Kicker.
Edmund, 21st seed, is projected to meet Tomas Berdych in the third round before a potential last-16 encounter with Anderson, who the Brit beat in the first round in Melbourne.
Cameron Norrie and Liam Broady both opened their bids to qualify for the main draw with convincing victories and will hope to increase British representation.
Surprise in store
Many might argue it would not be a surprise bearing in mind the impressive performances he has produced on the big stage in his burgeoning career, but Denis Shapovalov could make a deep run in Florida.
Shapovalov, world No 46, reached the fourth round of the US Open and the Canadian Open semi-finals last year and could relish the opportunity to play under the Miami spotlight.
The former Wimbledon junior champion will meet Viktor Troicki in the first round with Damir Dzumhur waiting in the second round.
Big-hitting Sam Querrey is the seeded third-round opponent with last week's semi-finalist at Indian Wells Borna Coric or Jack Sock potential fourth-round adversaries.
Live ATP Masters Tennis
You can watch the ATP Masters 1000 action from the Miami Open when we return on Sky Sports Arena this Wednesday at 3pm.
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