Next Gen
Sakamoto, 19, joins Djokovic, Murray & more with milestone win
Five teenagers are into the second round in Miami for the first 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 name to the list of teenage standouts making their mark at this year’s Miami Open presented by Itau on Friday, when he earned his maiden ATP Tour victory.
After five previous tour-level defeats, the 19-year-old Japanese wild card rose to the occasion at the ATP Masters 1000 event by converting his fifth match point in a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(7) win over Aleksandar Kovacevic. With his victory, Sakamoto set a second-round clash with in-form Indian Wells finalist Daniil Medvedev.
Joining Moise Kouame (17), Darwin Blanch (18), Rafael Jodar (19) and Joao Fonseca (19) in the second round, Sakamoto ensured that five teenagers reached that stage in Miami for the first time since 2007, when Juan Martin del Potro (18), Evgeny Korolev (19), Sam Querrey (19), Novak Djokovic (19) and Andy Murray (19) all advanced.
In his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Kovacevic, which featured multiple rain delays, Sakamoto produced a composed finish to the deciding set. After missing a match point on return at 6-5 in the decider and then three more in the tie-break, the Japanese eventually crossed the line.
Kovacevic pushed former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic to three sets in Indian Wells, but the home favourite could not find a way 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 last season by capturing two more ATP Challenger crowns to become the first Japanese teenager to win three trophies at that level.
Competing in Miami as the No. 164 player in the PIF ATP Rankings — seven places shy of his career high — Sakamoto will now look to carry that momentum into his meeting with the ninth-seeded Medvedev.