Next Gen
Sakamoto, 19, joins Djokovic, Murray & extra with milestone win
Five youngsters are into the second spherical in Miami for the primary time since 2007
March 20, 2026
ATP Tour
Rei Sakamoto wins his first ATP Tour match in Miami.
By Jerome Coombe
Rei Sakamoto added his title to the record of teenage standouts making their mark at this 12 months’s Miami Open presented by Itau on Friday, when he earned his maiden ATP Tour victory.
After 5 earlier tour-level defeats, the 19-year-old Japanese wild card rose to the event on the ATP Masters 1000 occasion by changing his fifth match level in a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(7) win over Aleksandar Kovacevic. With his victory, Sakamoto set a second-round conflict with in-form Indian Wells finalist Daniil Medvedev.
Joining Moise Kouame (17), Darwin Blanch (18), Rafael Jodar (19) and Joao Fonseca (19) within the second spherical, Sakamoto ensured that 5 youngsters reached that stage in Miami for the primary time since 2007, when Juan Martin del Potro (18), Evgeny Korolev (19), Sam Querrey (19), Novak Djokovic (19) and Andy Murray (19) all superior.
In his first Lexus ATP Head2Head assembly with Kovacevic, which featured a number of rain delays, Sakamoto produced a composed end to the deciding set. After lacking a match level on return at 6-5 within the decider after which three extra within the tie-break, the Japanese ultimately crossed the road.
Kovacevic pushed former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic to a few units in Indian Wells, however the house favorite couldn’t discover a well past Sakamoto.
Samurai Sakamoto ⚔️
19-year-old Rei Sakamoto claims his first ever tour-level victory, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(7) over Kovacevic! @MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/6p6aPirSpm
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 20, 2026
Sakamoto, who lifted the 2024 Australian Open boys’ title, continued his rise final season by capturing two extra ATP Challenger crowns to grow to be the primary Japanese teenager to win three trophies at that degree.
Competing in Miami because the No. 164 participant within the PIF ATP Rankings — seven locations shy of his profession excessive — Sakamoto will now look to hold that momentum into his assembly with the ninth-seeded Medvedev.
