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ATP Australian Open Grand Slam

Michael Zheng defeats Sebastian Korda in five-set win for first major victory

Michael Zheng earns first major win at Australian Open, defeating Sebastian Korda in five sets. (AO)

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Michael Zheng will not return to New York to begin his final semester at Columbia University. Instead the two-time reigning NCAA singles champion remains in Melbourne after securing his first major match win at the Australian Open.

Three days after saving a match point in the final round of qualifying, Zheng held off a late charge from former quarterfinalist Sebastian Korda, prevailing 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (0), 6-3. It was the first five-set match of Zheng’s career and came in his tour-level debut on a show court at Kia Arena.

“I think in the fourth I was starting to feel it in the legs a little bit on the serve, but then just found a second wind in the fifth. Honestly, I’m feeling better than I thought than I would now, but I’m sure tomorrow I’m going to be a little bit sore,” Zheng told press.

He credited the crowd for helping him push through when Korda raised his level in the middle sets. “The fans were starting to go crazy and just gave me that extra, I think, push to kind of close it out,” Zheng said.

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“I think Billie Jean said it best, ‘Pressure is a privilege.’ This is what you work for. It’s just a privilege to get a chance to step on Kia Arena for your first-round match at a Grand Slam, main-draw match at a Grand Slam.”

The 21-year-old from Montville, N.J. made steady progress last season, capturing three ATP Challenger Tour titles and finishing inside the Top 200. He also set a collegiate mark as the ninth man to win back-to-back NCAA singles championships, a run he says prepared him for the pressures of professional events.

“I think the NCAAs definitely prepared me for moments like these. I feel like when you are playing for college, you’re playing for something bigger than yourself,” he said. “So there’s a lot of people supporting you. You really want to win for yourself, but also for your school.

“I actually felt more nervous I think going into the finals of NCAAs than this match, surprisingly. But I think it shows college tennis is a real pathway to the pros.”

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If Zheng reaches the second round and falls to No. 32 seed Corentin Moutet, he would collect 225,000 AUD (approx. $150,390). With 15 credits left to complete a psychology degree, he said, “I want to make sure to double-check and make sure there’s nothing wrong with eligibility if I take it. I don’t want to get in trouble or anything,” the world No. 174 said. “So I’ll talk to Howie, our head coach, and I’ll try to figure that out after.”

Asked whether a deeper run would change his plans, he quipped, “If I beat Carlos Alcaraz in the third round, maybe then I’ll consider turning pro,” laughed Zheng.

ATP Masters Miami Open

Three Miami Open Quarterfinals to Watch: Muchova-Mboko, Michelsen-Sinner, Gauff-Bencic

Muchova vs Mboko, Michelsen vs Sinner, and Gauff vs Bencic: three must-see Miami Open quarterfinals.

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This day’s slate at the Miami Open centers on three intriguing quarterfinals that promise contrasting styles and storylines.

Karolina Muchova arrives off a 6-0, 6-2 win over Alex Eala, but Victoria Mboko is hardly an easy draw. “I just know it’s going to be very tough,” Mboko says of facing Muchova. Mboko lost to Muchova in the Doha final last month, 6-4, 7-5, yet she brings credentials of her own: she is ranked five spots higher (No. 9 to 14), reached the Indian Wells quarterfinals where she fell in two tight sets to Aryna Sabalenka, and recently beat Mirra Andreeva in three sets. Mboko’s game currently leans on groundstroke pace and foot speed; her stated objective is to extract more free points from her serve. “Hopefully I can kind of just work with my game and just see what patterns I could do, or whatever I can do to try to gain more free points,” Mboko says. Muchova has more variety to deploy, but she can be overpowered, as Iga Swiatek showed with a 6-2, 6-0 victory at Indian Wells. Winner: Mboko

On the men’s side, Sebastian Korda recently stunned Carlos Alcaraz, and Alex Michelsen will attempt a similar leap when he meets Jannik Sinner. The 21-year-old Californian has shown signs of growth: a Brisbane semifinal to start the year, three wins at Indian Wells including over Taylor Fritz, and two tight Miami wins, over Norrie and Tabilo, both 6-4 in the third. Michelsen has lost twice to Sinner; their first meeting in Cincinnati in 2024 finished 6-4, 7-5 and was closer than the score suggests, while a month later at the US Open Sinner lost just six games in three sets. Sinner is chasing his first Sunshine Double and is a three-time Miami finalist. The 6’4″ Michelsen brings more serve heat than Sinner’s recent opponents. Sinner is the favorite, but Michelsen is maturing and the crowd could matter. Winner: Sinner

Coco Gauff reaches her first Miami quarterfinal in seven appearances after three three-set wins over unseeded opponents. “There’s always that extra layer,” Gauff says of playing in South Florida, where she grew up and still lives. “You just see familiar faces in the crowd. You don’t want to disappoint them.” Her opponent, Belinda Bencic, is a counter-puncher; the two met four times in 2025 with Gauff winning three, two of them in three sets, and Bencic taking the Indian Wells rematch 6-4 in the third. Expect long points and momentum swings.

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1000 ATP Miami Open

Sinner Breaks Masters 1000 Record with 26 Straight Sets

Jannik Sinner reached 26, consecutive sets won at Masters 1000 events after beating Moutet in Miami.

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Jannik Sinner extended an uninterrupted run of dominance at Masters 1000 level, setting a new record for consecutive sets won at that tournament tier.

By beating Corentin Moutet in the third round of the Miami Open, 6-1, 6-4, Sinner reached 26 straight sets won at Masters 1000 events, surpassing Novak Djokovic’s previous mark of 24 set wins in a row from 2016. The victory moves the Italian ahead in the record books for streaks that date back to 1990, when Masters-level tournaments began.

Sinner’s run includes flawless performances at the two most recent Masters 1000 tournaments. He captured Paris last fall without dropping a set (10-0) and followed that by sweeping Indian Wells last week (12-0). In Miami, he tied Djokovic’s long-standing record two days earlier with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match at the event. The straight-sets win over Moutet then took him past the previous high-water mark.

The streak reflects consecutive completed sets won at Masters 1000 events; note that a walkover loss would end the run. With the Miami Open still under way, Sinner’s sequence now stands as the longest such streak in Masters 1000 history.

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ATP Masters Miami Open

Miami Open’s new ‘Love All’ frosé highlights tennis’ booming signature-drink market

Miami Open’s new ‘Love All’ frosé shows how signature cocktails have become big business in tennis..

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The Miami Open has added a new entry to a growing list of tournament signature drinks with the Love All frosé. Created exclusively for the 2026 Miami Open by Santa Margherita Wines, the tournament’s official wine sponsor, the frozen rosé cocktail is priced at $22 and served in a collectible glass shaped like a tennis ball. It is sold at the Rosé Giardino, an all-pink lounge at Hard Rock Stadium that has become a popular photo stop and draws long lines.

Players sampled the drink on the Players Box podcast. Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Jennifer Brady and Desirae Krawczyk offered largely positive reviews, with Brady the lone dissenter, due to her general dislike of wine. “It’s very good,” Keys said, laughing, as she gave it a 4.5 out of 5. “It’s quite strong… If you drink them during our matches, just like, keep the volume down!”

The Love All joins an expanding set of tournament beverages that now form a meaningful revenue stream. Wimbledon’s Pimm’s Cup and strawberries and cream remain long-standing traditions, but the US Open’s Honey Deuce transformed the idea into a major commercial success. Introduced in 2006 and sold exclusively at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the Honey Deuce is made with Grey Goose vodka, lemonade and raspberry liqueur and topped with honeydew melon balls. Priced at $23 and served in a collectible cup, the drink grew into a significant income source: more than 738,400 Honey Deuces were sold in 2025, generating roughly $17 million in revenue, a 32 percent increase from the previous year driven in part by expanded Fan Week programming.

Other recent additions include the Ace Paloma from Maestro Dobel Tequila, introduced in 2023 and served at multiple events, plus player-inspired cocktails such as the MargAryna with Aryna Sabalenka and the Fritzy Spicy with Taylor Fritz, which debuted at the US Open in 2024. The Charleston Open offers First Serve, Canada’s National Bank Open has The Smash, the Australian Open added the Lemon Ace in 2025, and Indian Wells introduced The Drop Shot earlier this month. Limited-edition cups and branded experiences, amplified by social media, have intensified the appeal of these offerings. With beverage margins often exceeding 90 percent, signature drinks are proving both culturally resonant and commercially powerful for tournaments.

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