Novak Djokovic is about to start his run at the Miami Open and he was blessed with a good draw Novak Djokovic is about to start his run at the Miami Open, and a good draw will help the Serbian legend to have a good shot at winning his 74th career title. Nole has already conquered the Miami Open on 6 occasions (2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2016) and he was the runner-up in 2009. Djokovic’s projected path in Miami After the 1st round bye, Novak is set to play Thomas Berdych in the 2nd round. That is good news for the Serbian that has an outstanding 25-3 head to head record against Thomas. In the 3rd round, Novak should face the world no.39 John Millman that hit the headlines for upsetting Roger Federer at the US Open last year. However, the Australian has a flat 8-8 win-loss record in 2019, and Djokovic has a good 2-0 head to head lead against him. In the 4th round, Djokovic may clash against his dear friend and doubles partner Fabio Fognini. Also, in this case, Djokovic has a great H2H record (8-1) and the only time that he lost to the Italian was 13 years ago! The Italian also has a terrible 3-6 win-loss record, and he was defeated in his last 5 matches. In the quarters, Nole is projected to face John Isner, the Miami Open defending champion. Djokovic has a strong 9-2 head to head record against the American. In the semifinal, the world no.1 should play Dominic Thiem, the Indian Wells champion. Djokovic has a 5-2 H2H record against the Austrian (2-0 on outdoor hard courts). In the final, Djokovic may clash against an in-form Roger Federer. The head to head is 25-22 for Djokovic, but it’s 13-all on outdoor hard courts. Here the full Miami Open draw AIMING FOR NO.7 Embed from Getty Images<doc-sep>Indian Wells has just finished with two big surprises: Dominic Thiem champions of the first ATP Masters 1000 of the season (it was his first career title in a Masters 1000 event - ed. ), and the millennial Bianca Andreescu champion of the Premier Mandatory, her first career title. The month of March, however, is planning another great event, in which the world of tennis is preparing: the Miami Open, second ATP Masters 1000 and Premier Mandatory of 2019, one of the most important tournaments of the season. The WTA / ATP combined event will not have among its great protagonists Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova and Juan Martin del Potro. The Spaniard, after retiring before the most awaited semi-final against Roger Federer, will miss the tournament in Florida, while he should be present in Monte Carlo, for the start of the clay swing. Meanwhile this week there will be qualifying rounds for the Miami Open, while the women's draw will start on 03/19/2019. There will be many stars on the hard courts for this prestigious tournament: Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem, Milos Raonic, Tomas Berdych, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Kei Nishikori, Stan Wawrinka, Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep, Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Petra Kvitova , Aryna Sabalenka, Garbine Muguruza, Sloane Stephens and Bianca Andreescu. The tournament will take place from 2019 March 18th to 2019 March 31st, for a fortnight of emotions and great tennis. This week there will also be two ATP Challenger in Lille, in France, and in Zhangjiagang, in China.<doc-sep>
In a chat to local reporters at the Miami Open, the Tournament Director James Blake commented on Rafael Nadal's withdrawal. The Spaniard will miss the second calendar Masters 1000 tournament of the season for the second year in a row, once again due to an injury. Nadal reached five finals in Miami, losing them all including the most recent in 2017 against Roger Federer. "Rafa’s absolutely one of the greatest ambassadors in sports in general, so you always want to see him play and see him healthy", said Blake. "When he calls a trainer, you know it’s for a reason. He’s a guy through competes through anything. His body has taken such a toll with the way he plays and how much tennis he plays. It’s too bad. I wish him all the best. We’ll miss him here but we’re in a golden era of tennis, so we’re lucky to have one of the other greatest of all time, if not the greatest, in Roger Federer, and then Novak, who’s making his bid. And, in my mind, greatest of all time on the women’s side Serena (Williams). So, we’re going to miss Rafa, but the show must go on and we’ve still got unbelievable talent out there for fans to watch." Asked if playing two Grand Slams out of four on hard is bad for him, Nadal replied: "I am a tennis player, and to be a tennis player, I have to play on all the surfaces. My goal is to play on all the surfaces. Another thing is adjust my calendar to the way that I need. But that not means that I'm not gonna play in the hard courts."