In one of the strangest days in pro tennis history, both Friday semifinals went uncontested due to a pair of walkovers at the Sony Open in Miami – a first for the men’s tour in the Open Era.

A bizarre series of events began just before 3pm when oft-injured Kei Nishikori announced he was pulling out of his match with Novak Djokovic due to a left groin injury.

“Very sorry to say …

Juan Martin del Potro arrived back in Argentina on Thursday after successful surgery Monday on his left wrist. The same doctor who operated on his right wrist four years, Dr. Richard Berger, performed the procedure at the Mayo Clinic on Rochester, Minn.

“During the operation, it was discovered that the damage to his wrist ligaments was worse than expected based upon the high resolution imaging obtained before the surgery,” a statement …

Rafael Nadal made it known why he has the habit of taking his shirt off after every match. I haven’t noticed the routine but the other people (women?) have.

Yesterday after his 3-set win over Milos Raonic explained why he’s apparently the only player who does that.

“I don’t want to get cold,” he said. “That’s the reason.

“Maybe the other players are not sweating as much as …

Today marks the ten year anniversary of the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal rivalry. Then just 17, Nadal beat the then 2-time Slam winner Federer 63, 63 in the third round of Miami.

“It was a tough tournament,” said Federer looking back at the player he knew little about. “I came off of sunstroke in Indian Wells after beating Henman in the finals. I was in bed for four or five days, and …

Similar to Indian Wells, we have three guys we thought would get to the Final Four along with an upstart who upset a legend. In the desert it was Alexandr Dolgopolov stunning Rafael Nadal en route to the last for there. This week Kei Nishikori takes over as the new kid on the block, outplaying Roger Federer Wednesday night to reach his first Miami semifinal.

So Friday’s matches are Novak Djokovic …

Indian Wells winner Novak Djokovic continued his torrid U.S. spring run on Wednesday at the Sony Open in Miami, gaining the semifinals after dismissing defending champion Andy Murray 7-5, 6-3.

Murray broke serve once in the second set to go up a break, but it was Djokovic with three breaks and seven aces during the contest, improving his head-to-head to 12-8 career against the Brit.

A point of contention during the match …

Novak Djokovic is the center of controversy this afternoon thanks to a missed call by the chair umpire during his quarterfinal win at the Sony Open Miami.

The incident in question occurred on the the first point of the 12th game with Murray serving 5-6. The video showed Djokovic’s racquet had crossed the net when he made contact with the ball he put away from a tap winner….

Rafael Nadal was named “World Comeback of the Year” during the 2014 Laureus World Sports Awards in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Nadal returned from a debilitating knee injury last February to win 10 titles in 14 finals to finish No. 1 for a third time.

Nadal is currently playing the Sony Open in Miami where he’s seeking a first title. He’ll play Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals tomorrow night.

We are down to just eight at the season’s second Tennis Masters Series tournament. The men’s quarters from Miami get underway later today, and after a week of play in the tropical paradise the draw has gone mostly to form.

If there are any real surprises this first part of the tournament I’d look to wins yesterday by Roger Federer over Richard Gasquet and Andy Murray’s blowout win over JW Tsonga …

Rafael Nadal is racing toward a first Sony Open Miami title. The World No. 1 has looked dominant in two matches easily beating Lleyton Hewitt 61, 63 in the first round and then yesterday he hammered Denis Istomin 61, 60.

“No mistakes, serving with good percentage, and playing a lot of winners,” Nadal said yesterday. “My movements were better than what I did last event events.”

Rafa’s …

Tomas Berdych has a bid match today in the Miami fourth round against American John Isner. To prepare, Berdych, says, he’s careful about how he eats, especially in cultural places like Miami where there are many temptations.

“I think this point is always going to be boring because you try to keep eating the same food because you cannot risk anything,” Berdych told the Sony …

In an interview with the UK’s Daily Mail, Roger Federer spoke to Mike Dickson about the reasons for his recent resurgence.

The Swiss who plays today in Miami talks about his back bad, Stefan Edberg, the bigger racquet and the off season hours he put in to get back into top shape.

“What I don’t like is when people don’t understand why I’m not playing so well,” Federer told the Daily …

Not all was lost for Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday. The rising star was sent out of the Sony Open Miami tournament by Kei Nishikori 76, 75 in the third round. But during the match the Bulgarian came to the rescue of a sick ballgirl during the match.

Good thing no “time violation” was called.

After a hot start to the year, Dimitrov cooled off in the U.S. finishing his hardcourt swing losing …

Will Maria Sharapova ever win a Sony Open title in Miami?

The Russian, 0-5 in career finals at the event, scrapped to stay alive for another chance when she reached the quarterfinals with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over Belgian Kristen Flipkens on Monday.

“I usually like playing first match on, but I didn’t start off the way I wanted to,” said Sharapova, the No. 4 seed after winning her second three-set …

Juan Martin del Potro announced today that he will have surgery on his ailing left wrist tomorrow in Rochester, Minn. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Richard Berger of the Mayo Clinic.

On his Facebook page, del Potro said the following:

Dear friends,

I want to tell you that after a period of medical treatment, in which we tried to be competitive on a tennis court, …