Stefanos Tsitsipas wary of Kei Nishikori threat ahead of Miami clash

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Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas was thrilled with the way he performed against three-time ATP champion Damir Dzumhur at the Miami Masters on Saturday. Tsitsipas, seeded at No. 2, saw off former world No. 23 Dzumhur 6-1 6-4 to reach the Miami third round.

Tsitsipas started the match with back-to-back breaks and a 5-0 lead, before serving out for the opener in the seventh game. Tsitsipas then converted the lone break of the second set in the third game, before serving out for the match in the 10th game.

The head-to-head record between the two still stands on Dzumhur's way as the Bosnian leads 3-2. “It was a great match, especially against a guy that I probably don't have a good record playing against in the past,” said Tsitsipas, per the ATP website.

“I started the match very strong, breaking him twice and taking a big lead in the score, and I think the things worked out by themselves after that”.

Tsitsipas plays next Kei Nishikori

Former world No. 4 Nishikori survived a tight clash against Slovenian Aljaz Bedene to set up a third round meeting against Tsitsipas.

Nishikori, who is hoping to have a big bounce back season this year, edged out Bedene 7-6 (6) 5-7 6-4. “[Kei is] a player that has played very well in the past, and even now he can raise his level really high,” said Tsitsipas.

“I'll try and be ready for the battle. It's important for me to have matches against strong opponents like him. “I am very pumped for the match and I'm going to try and put my best performance out there. I'm going to try and take it game by game… It's a strong third round, I won't hide it.

It's important for me to be ready for that match and be physically prepared”. Nishikori won the lone meeting against Tsitsipas, which came in Tokyo three years ago.