Borna Coric made a come-back with a 6-4 7-5 win over Fernando Verdasco at the Hard Rock Stadium in hot and humid conditions in Miami.
Coric earned his first break in the 10th game to take a 6-4 lead. Verdasco saved two break points in the second game of the second set. Coric broke serve at love in the fourth game to take a 4-1 lead. Verdasco converted his third break point in the seventh game and held serve in the eighth game to draw level to 4-4. The Spaniard won his fourth consecutive game to take a 5-4 lead. Coric came back by winning three games in a row to seal the third set 7-5.
Coric will face number 2 seed Alexander Zverev. The Croatian player leads 3-2 in his five head-to-head matches, but Zverev won their most recent clash at the 2020 US Open.
Jack Draper edged past Gilles Simon 7-5 6-1 in 1 hour and 48 minutes to seal his first ATP Masters 1000 Draper continued his good period of form after winning three titles on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2022.
After a trade of breaks, Draper earned a second break to take a 6-5 lead after a poor service game from Simon. Drapen served out the first set at love. Draper broke three times to close out a one-sided set 6-1.
Draper was forced to withdraw from the match against Mikhail Kukushkin on his debut at the Miami Open a year ago.
“It feels good. I played an OK game today. It was tough conditions. It wasn’t the easiest, especially after what happened last year. It was in the back of my mind a little bit, especially after what happened last year. It was in the back of my mind. It was in the back of my mind a little bit. I am glad to come through the match. I think it shows the work I have put in the last six months, so I am happy with the performance today”, said Draper.
Draper will face his compatriot Cameron Norrie in their second head-to-head match. Norrie beat Draper in the quarter finals at Queen’s in London last June.
“I have played a lot of with Cameron in the UK. He is one of the guys who has been great with me as a young Brit. I think he is always supporting, always sending me messages. It’s nice I get to share the court with him on Friday. When I played against him at Queen’s last year, I am a lot better player than that I think. Hopefully I can give him a run for his money on Friday”, said Draper.
Brandon Nakashima beat Soonwoo Kwon 6-1 7-5 to set up a second round match with Frances Tiafoe. Nakashima broke twice in the second and sixth games of the first set and in the eleventh game of the second set.
Mackenzie McDonald came back from one set down to beat Dominik Koepfer 6-7 6-4 6-4 in 2 hours and 37 minutes. McDonald started the first set with a break at love. Koepfer broke back with a break back in the fourth game to draw level to 2-2. Both players traded breaks in the fifth and sixth games to draw level to 3-3. Koepfer sealed the tie-break 10-8 on his sixth set point.
The second se started with two trades of breaks. McDonald closed out the second set with a break in the 10th game.
Both players traded breaks in the first two games. Koepfer opened up a 3-1 lead with a break in the third game. McDonald won four consecutive games to take a 5-3 lead with two breaks of serve. Koepfer broke back in the ninth game from 4-5 but McDonald earned his decisive break on his third match point.
Francisco Cerundolo battled past Tallon Griekspoor 7-5 4-6 6-3. Cerundolo will face Reilly Opelka in the second round. Hugo Gaston cruised past US wild card Emilio Nava 6-2 6-1 in just over an hour to set up a second round match against John Isner.
