Kokkinakis, Paire, Garin One Step Closer to Men’s Singles Main Draw

Former ATP-Tour title winners advance to the Qualifying final round

by Daniel Perisse

Miami Gardens, FL (March 20, 2023) – Thanasi Kokkinakis, Benoit Paire and Christian Garin were among the players who got past their first-round matches in the 2023 Miami Open presented by Itaú Men’s Singles Qualifying, and now need only one more win to secure a spot into the main draw.

Currently at No. 94 in the ATP Rankings, Kokkinakis defeated Argentina’s Andrea Collarini 6-3, 6-3. The 2022 Australian Open Men’s doubles winner (alongside Nick Kyrgios) plays now Wild Card Benoit Paire for a place in the main draw.

On his turn, Paire beat Gijs Brouwer, from the Netherlands, 6-2, 6-4 in over an hour. A three-time ATP Tour champion in singles, the Frenchman is currently ranked at No. 170.

Elsewhere, Cristian Garin also secured a win in his first-round fixture against Kaichi Uchida, from Japan, 6-4, 6-4. Holder of five ATP-Tour titles, all on clay, and currently at World No. 97, he will have to face his countryman Alejandro Tabilo in a match that ends up ensuring a player from Chile in the main draw.

Currently ranked at No. 83, Australia’s Jordan Thompson cruised past Argentinian Renzo Olivo, 6-1, 6-1, and booked a match against Czech Tomas Machac in the second and final round.

Qualifying No. 1 seed Nuno Borges defeated Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-4 and now faces Borna Gojo, from Croatia. It was Borges’ second win in 25 hours. The 26-year-old from Portugal won last week’s Challenger event in Phoenix, clinching the title in three sets in the final that began at 5 p.m. ET Sunday. He landed in Miami after 9 a.m. Monday morning and was on court around 4:30 p.m. where he earned a straight-sets win in just over one hour.

Also, this was the third match in 2023 between the Portuguese and the former World No. 21: in Delray Beach, they played in the last qualifying round and again in the main draw first round, as Johnson entered as a lucky loser. Borges won both matches, and now adds a third to his head-to-head with the Orange, Calif. native.

On the other hand, Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili was upset by Brazilian Felipe Meligeni Alves in a three-setter, 6-4 1-6, 6-1. The Georgian player is a five-time ATP title winner, former World No. 16 and ranked at No. 132, while the 25-year-old player from Brazil is World No. 164 and seeks his first participation in a Masters 1000 main draw.

The second round of the Men’s qualifying is scheduled for tomorrow, March 21, starting at 11 a.m. Main Draw first-round action starts on March 22. You can find the full qualifying draw and results here.

Download the order of play for tomorrow and get your tickets here.