Following a shock loss Saturday to Thanasi Kokkinakis in his Miami opener, Roger Federer confirmed that he will skip the clay season for a second straight year.

“Yeah, I decided not to play,” Federer said playing on the clay. “I didn’t play great last week either, I felt, overall. Nothing new, in my opinion. I’m trying to figure things out.

“I’m a positive thinker. I feel like every match is another …

Oft-injured Thanasi Kokkinkis may have pulled the upset of the season thus far Saturday, stunning world No. 1 Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) in the opening round in Miami.

Federer, who began the year winning his first 17 matches, has now lost his last two, both in final set tiebreakers and both to much taller foes.

After jumping out to a set lead over the 175th-ranked Australian, Federer seemed to be in …

Novak Djokovic’s recent downward spiral continued Friday in Miami, one of his favorite events. The Serb had won six titles overall at the event and 16 in a row that is until he ran into Frenchman Benoit Paire., falling 6-4, 6-3 in just 67 minutes.

Djokovic, who suffered a horrible loss at Indian Wells to qualifier Taro Daniel, looked better early on but then fell apart once again, spraying errors and …

The lower seeds again took a beating on Friday at the Miami Open where a top American and and both Indian Wells finalists exited the tournament.

Safely advancing were all four Top 10 seeds in action as No. 4 Elina Svitolina handled Indian Wells winner Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-2; No. 6 Jelena Ostapenko beat Timea Babos 6-4, 6-4, No. 8 Venus Williams tamed Natalia Vikhlyantseva from a brak down in the …

Roger Federer met the press yesterday in Miami, where he’s won the title three times including last year. The Swiss enters the second Masters of the season following a heartbreaking loss to Juan Martin del Potro in the Indian Wells final Sunday.

But Federer has been pleased of late and was at least glad that del Potro had to play well to win that title.

In speaking to the media, …

Six-time champion Novak Djokovic resumes his comeback this afternoon at Miami. The former No. 1 who had a rough go at Indian Wells losing meekly to qualifier Taro Daniel, hopes Miami offers more success.

“I’m not yet at my best but I’m working to get there,” Djokovic said Tuesday. “Every day is a process for me and is an opportunity to learn, to grow, to get better. Obviously the two …

The three Top 10 seeds in action survived while an astounding 25% of the total seeds exited on Thursday at the Miami Open.

World No. 1 Simona Halep continued with shaky play but successfully struggled past France’s Oceane Dodin 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in her opener. The Romanian was fed a bagel set in her loss at Indian Wells to unseeded Naomi Osaka last week.

“I cannot tell you much about this match, …

So I’ve seen this Serena-return-but-got-screwed-because-unseeded story become a hot-button issue not just among the tennis press, but also in the mainstream media. Specifically, because Serena lost yesterday to Indian Wells champion Naomi Osaka It has been decreed by many that it was somehow “unfair” that Serena had to play someone like Osaka so early in a tournament when “we know” Serena is the greatest!

As I understand it — and I …

In the marquee showdown of the opening round of the Miami Masters, Serena Williams was blasted by 20-year-old Naomi Osaka 6-3, 6-2.

Osaka recently stormed to the Indian Wells title on Sunday, cruising past No. 1s Maria Sharapova, Karolina Pliskova and Simona Halep before routing Daria Kasatkina in the final. Serena has lost to sister Venus.

But on Wednesday, after a slow start it was all Osaka who made the 36-year-old …

The tour goes from the left coast to the right coast, shifting from the dry desert air of California to the tropical humidity of Miami, site of the final Miami Open to be held in Key Biscayne.

After their thrilling final Sunday at Indian Wells, defending champion Roger Federer and Juan Martin Del Potro are back, along with Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Marin Cilic and Grigor Dimitrov.

Once again, though, many …

Defending champion Johanna Konta is an unfortunate afterthought at the 2018 Miami Open, where Serena Williams is unseeded and starts against Indian Wells winner Naomi Osaka, with the winner to meet No. 4 Elina Svitolina.

Former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka and Venus Williams are eager to show they’re in the mix, as is world No. 2 Victoria Azarenka.

Here is a look at the four quarters of the 2018 Miami Open draw:

TOP …

If you haven’t seen it, it was the story of the women’s final. That being Naomi Osaka’s victory speech after cruising past Daria Kasatkina to win Indian Wells.

It was the 20-year-old’s first title of any kind, and after the match during her acceptance speech, you could tell the youngster was at a loss for words. But it was thoroughly raw and refreshing.

“Well, …

In his biggest win since the 2009 US Open, Juan Martin del Potro beat Roger Federer 64, 67(8), 76(1) to win his first career Masters title at Indian Wells.

Del Potro, who also beat Federer in their last U.S. event together at the U.S., was 0-3 in Masters finals and facing Federer who had won 17 straight matches, 10 in a row at Indian Wells.

Del Potro had to save three match …

In one of the best matches of the season, Roger Federer suffered his first loss since November, falling in a tough three sets to Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-7(8), 7-6(1).

In the match, Federer held three championship points serving 5-4 in the third set. He then was routed in the ensuing tiebreaker ending a run of 17 straight matches and a chance at a record sixth Indian Wells title.

And he …

Juan Martin del Potro waited a long time to win his first Masters title, but it may have been well worth. The 29-year-old outlasted rival Roger Federer in a 3-set exhilarating epic to win the Indian Wells title 6-4, 6-7(8), 7-6(2) Sunday.

“It’s difficult to describe in words,” said Del Potro after the 2-hour, 42-minute win. “It’s like a dream. I’ve been working hard to get this, and I did it …