Miami Open 2023

While the BNP Paribas Open —or the Indian Wells tournament—had only just concluded, a new ATP 1000 tournament, the 2023 Miami Open, was about to begin. Newly crowned world number one and Indian Wells champion Carlos Alcaraz was, of course, in attendance in Miami, and with names like Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, and Alexander Zverev, many of the world's elite were also represented on the field. Novak Djokovic (who did not compete in the US due to a lack of vaccination) and Rafael Nadal (who was injured) were also absent from this prestigious tournament.

The Netherlands had one ace up its sleeve at the 2023 Miami Open men's tournament. Only Botic van de Zandschulp (seeded ^26th ) was in the lineup, as Tallon Griekspoor opted out of the tournament to take a break. Van de Zandschulp qualified directly for the second round with a bye and faced Alexei Popyrin, whom he defeated in three sets. In the third round, our compatriot then pulled off a major upset by defeating the third-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud 3-6/6-4/6-4. Unfortunately, Emil Ruusuvuori proved too strong for Van de Zandschulp in the next round, and he thus found himself in the round of 16 of the 2023 Miami Open.

Highlights Miami Open 2023

While Van de Zandschulp made it to the round of 16, the tournament ended much faster for several big names. Dusan Lajovic, for example, proved too strong for Andy Murray in the first round, and Zverev also suffered an immediate defeat in his first match. The German lost a remarkable 6-0/6-4 to his Japanese opponent Taro Daniel. Other surprises in the second round included the eliminations of Britain's Cameron Norrie, Australia's Alex de Minaur, and Italy's Matteo Berrettini. They lost to Gregoire Barrere, Quentin Halys, and Mackenzie McDonald, respectively.

As mentioned earlier, the third round was the final stop for Ruud, thanks to a strong victory over Van de Zandschulp. However, the Norwegian's defeat marked the end of the season for more highly ranked players. Frances Tiafoe, for example, was unable to hold her own against Lorenzo Sonego, Hubert Hurkacz was defeated by Adrian Mannarino, and Felix Auger-Alliasime was surprised by Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo. Cerundolo, ranked 33rd in the world, needed only two sets to defeat the young Canadian (6-2/7-5).

Great victories for Jannik Sinner

The round of 16 immediately featured several interesting matches. Taylor Fritz (ATP-10) defeated Holger Rune, ranked eighth in the world and also in the global top ten, and Italian Jannik Sinner managed to defeat Rublev. Tsitsipas, ranked third in the world and the second seed for this tournament, needed to defeat Karen Khachanov (ATP-11) to advance to the quarterfinals. However, it was the tall Russian who emerged victorious in this head-to-head match, thus qualifying for the last eight of the 2023 Miami Open.

World number one Alcaraz defeated Fritz in the quarterfinals, while Sinner, Medvedev, and Khachanov defeated Ruusuvuori, Cristopher Eubanks, and Cerundolo, respectively. All quarterfinals ended in straight sets, raising hopes that the semifinals would be more exciting, and that hope proved true. Medvedev faced his compatriot Khachanov, winning 7-5/3-6/6-3, while the other semifinal was between the super-talented Alcaraz and Sinner. In a match that lasted over three hours and was packed with exciting points, it was the latter who ultimately emerged victorious and thus qualified for the final of the 2023 Miami Open against Medvedev.

Miami Open 2023 Final

For Medvedev, the final in Miami marked his fifth (!) final of 2023, having previously won in Rotterdam, Dubai , and Doha. Sinner had also already won the Montpellier tournament this year, so it was a battle between two in-form players. During this final of the 2023 Miami Open, Sinner made the first break, but because Medvedev twice managed to win his opponent's service game, the Russian still took the first set (7-5). When Medvedev pressed on in the second set and quickly took a 3-1 lead, Sinner's demise was over, and Medvedev ultimately secured his fourth ATP title of 2023 with a 7-5/6-3 victory.