16:05
invasion
At this moment, our protagonists enter the square in the Grandstand. After a few steps of preparation, you meet with the British chair umpire Richard Haigh to vote at the net.
15:56
points and dollars
So this is about reaching the second round, which is rewarded with 25 world ranking points and $30,885. By the way, if you win the tournament in Miami Gardens, you get the usual 1,000 points and $ 1,262,200 in prize money for the Masters. Most titles at this tournament were won by Andre Agassi and Novak Djokovic, who triumphed six times each. The defending champion is Carlos Alcaraz, who has to repeat this success if he wants to maintain the top position in the world rankings that he has just achieved. If the Spaniard doesn’t do that, Djoker is number one again. There has never been a German tournament winner at the Miami Open. Alexander Zverev was at least close as a finalist in 2018.
15:46
Current shape
Germany’s current number two was 36 in the world last year, but has slipped significantly again. Otte is currently 85. At the ATP level, the Cologne native has only reached a doubles final (Sofia 2022) and is still waiting for a final in singles. This season the form has not yet set in, as the 29-year-old has a match record of 3:7. More than the round of 16 in Dallas and most recently the second round of Indian Wells was not possible. His last really good performances date back to June 2022. Back then, Otte reached the semi-finals in Stuttgart and Halle one after the other. Nakashima has also not been able to win two matches in a row this year, has two wins and four losses.
15:36
Nakashima
Nevertheless, the American has one or two advantages over his German opponent. Nakashima has already reached three finals on the ATP tour and won his first title at his home tournament in San Diego in 2022. The success at the Next Generation Finals 2022 in Milan is not counted in the official balance sheet. Last fall, the Californian climbed to number 43 in the world rankings – his best position to date. He is currently ranked 45th.
15:26
At eye level
Both players show amazing parallels – and not just because they are right-handed. Our opponents have each made it to the round of 16 of a Grand Slam tournament. Otte did this at the US Open 2021, Nakashima at Wimbledon 2022. In addition, both have never made it past the second round of Masters tournaments, are in the main draw for the second time in Miami and failed in the second round twelve months ago.
15:16
Welcome
Welcome to the Miami Open 2023! The second Masters event of the year follows almost directly after the Indian Wells tournament. The 1,000 in Florida will also last a week and a half. To start with, we’re going to focus today on the match between Oscar Otte and Brandon Nakashima, which is scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m. CET.