Hi, this is Michael.

As a Columbia senior navigating both college seasons and early ATP events, Michael Zheng wrote from a spring break hotel in Tucson to describe a hectic opening to 2026. He has been juggling flights, practices and team matches while trying to keep up with schoolwork between tournaments.

Indian Wells was a demanding stop. Zheng described the adjustment to the tournament atmosphere after a busy start to the year that included the Australian Open and his first Masters appearance. He called the opportunity to play at Indian Wells a valuable exposure to the level he wants to reach and noted that receiving a wild card is something he will not complain about.

Zheng faced Vit Kopriva in the first round. Kopriva, 28 and outside the top 50, pushed the match to 7-6 (5), 7-5 in nearly two hours. “It was close to two hours for two sets, and it was very back and forth. He was up in both sets, and I got it back,” Zheng recounted. He said Kopriva was striking his backhand well and that a few loose points, particularly in the tiebreak, decided the outcome. Zheng took confidence from the performance against a player near the top 60 and from the manner in which both players left the court.

Off court the reception felt different after Australia. “The more you win, the more you’re accepted.” He has found opponents in college treating Columbia matches as chances to play without pressure, which Zheng sees as a challenge that will aid his development.

Zheng also wrote about winning the Hurd Award, presented by the UTR Foundation and the Hurd family to assist college players transitioning to the pros. The $100,000 award will help him begin his professional career; retaining his Australian Open prize money was another boost as he prepares to leave college eligibility after 2026.

The Sunshine Double moves into its second act at the Hard Rock Stadium, where the Miami Open’s quicker courts, louder crowds and higher humidity shape a very different test from Indian Wells. After Indian Wells, the Top 2 narrative has shifted. Two weeks ago Carlos Alcaraz began 2026 without a loss, while Jannik Sinner arrived with a couple of semifinal finishes. Sinner’s title in Indian Wells, his first of 2026, changed the tenor of the season: he did not drop a set and closed out the final with a furious run of points.

Both players have won Miami once — Alcaraz in 2022 and Sinner in 2024 — though neither made an impact here last year. Sinner was suspended and Alcaraz fell to David Goffin in the second round. The slightly faster surface in Miami should suit Sinner; he has been to three finals at this event.

Neither must face Novak Djokovic, who is not playing, and their routes to the later rounds look broadly manageable with one early wrinkle. Alcaraz could open with Joao Fonseca, a matchup fans have anticipated given both players’ power off the forehand. Fonseca, who pushed Sinner to two tiebreaks in Indian Wells, must first get past Fabian Marozsan. Alcaraz’s projected path could include Seb Korda, Karen Khachanov and then Taylor Fritz, Jack Draper or Casper Ruud in the quarters.

Sinner’s section offers fewer obvious landmines. Early tests might be Damir Dzumhur in round two, Corentin Moutet in round three, Cam Norrie or Andrey Rublev in round four, and then Jakub Mensik, Frances Tiafoe or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarters. Indian Wells runner-up Daniil Medvedev, a de facto third seed, sits in Sinner’s half and represents a genuine title threat when he finds rhythm on hard courts.

Players to watch and projected early showdowns include Jack Draper, Jakub Mensik and Ben Shelton, plus returning contenders such as Taylor Fritz and Arthur Fils. Notable early matchups:

Alcaraz vs. Fonseca, second round: The first of hopefully many between two of the most lethal forehands in the game

Tommy Paul vs. Flavio Cobolli, third round: Two loose athletes with major forehands of their own. This feels like night-session fodder

Alexander Bublik vs. Matteo Berrettini, second round

Fils vs. Alex De Minaur, third round

Medvedev vs. Francisco Cerundolo, third round

Tiafoe vs. Mensik, third round

Since Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz began to dominate, discussion has pivoted from who will replace the Big Three to who can join the pair at the summit. “[Jannik] Sinner and [Carlos] Alcaraz have pulled away from everybody for almost the last two and a half years,” supercoach and broadcast analyst Brad Gilbert told me recently. “It’s kind of like we’ve been waiting because—great as they are—it’s just the two of them.”

Gilbert argues the tour benefits from a genuine third force. “It makes it more exciting when someone else is in the mix,” Gilbert said. “Even during the Big Three, we had Stan Wawrinka (three Grand Slam singles titles) and Andy Murray (also three majors, but 11 other times a finalist) to make things more interesting. We do need at least somebody else.”

Among players under 25, a handful carry the profile to mount sustained challenges. No. 5 Lorenzo Musetti is unconventional for the era, a 6-foot-1 Italian with a one-handed backhand who has risen to No. 5 despite a psoas injury at the Australian Open, a missed clay swing, and a 1-10 record versus Sinner and Alcaraz.

No. 9 Ben Shelton arrived at 10-1 this season before illness at Indian Wells interrupted his momentum. Shelton, 23, shows the power and court hunger that excites coaches. “He doesn’t beat the top guys right now, but his game still feels like there’s plenty of room to improve,” broadcast analyst Jimmy Arias told me. “Some of the strokes are funky, but he’s got that attitude—that belief and swagger.” As Shelton himself said at Indian Wells, “I think delusional belief or confidence isn’t always a bad thing, and I think a lot of the greats and successful people, you know, turn what seems to be delusional belief into success.”

No. 13 Jakub Mensik made a statement with a Masters title last year, beating Arthur Fils, Taylor Fritz and Novak Djokovic in succession. Djokovic observed: “I could see back then that he’s going to be, you know, one of the top players of the world. I’m super glad that he’s using the potential that he has, because he’s got the complete game.”

Other prospects include No. 21 Learner Tien, praised by Andre Agassi for execution and composure; No. 26 Jack Draper, whose speed is a strength but whose history of injury remains a concern; and No. 39 Joao Fonseca, who won two titles in 2025 and impressed Sinner. Sinner was absent from Indian Wells and Miami last year due to a doping suspension.

“Yeah, there are some guys out there,” Gilbert said. “But I also feel that if something doesn’t change, we might be having this same conversation for five years. It’s true. You’re going to have to think of a lot of new things to say, right?”