Young guns have advanced to the third round of the Miami Masters with old pro Roger Federer waiting in the wings to make his grand appearance at the hardcourt showpiece.
Fourth seed Alexander Zverev mounted a weekend fightback in his opener on Saturday after a bye, overcoming Russian Daniil Medvedev 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7-5).
Canadian Denis Shapovalov swept the first set in 23 minutes as he crushed Damir Dzumhur 6-1 7-5. Croatian Borna Coric came from a set down to oust Argentinian Leo Mayer 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-4.
Getting one back for the old school was 35-year-old Spaniard David Ferrer, who beat young Russian Evgeny Donskoy 6-2 6-2.
Top seed Federer was taking his place later on court as he starts in the second round against 175th-ranked Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Federer will be making the bid for a fourth Miami crown as the event plays its last edition on the Key Biscayne Crandon Park venue.
It will move from next year to an NFL football stadium complex which is said to have much needed room for tournament expansion.
The 21-year-old Aussie will bid to become the lowest-ranked player to beat a number one at the same tournament at the same moment in a decade and a half.
Spanish qualifier Francisco Clavet was ranked 178th when he upset then-number one Lleyton Hewitt in the 2003 Miami second round.
Federer was a quarter-finalist at 2003 Miami, while Kokkinakis was aged 6.
Federer’s final appearance on Key Biscayne comes 20 years after he ended his junior career here with the Orange Bowl championship.
Crandon Park was also the site of Federer’s first ATP Masters 1000 match (1999), win (2000), quarter-final (2001), final (2002) and doubles title (2003).
He beat rival Rafael Nadal for titles in 2005 and 2017 and his coach Ivan Ljubicic for another in 2006.