The Russian won when these two first met back in February, but the clay could bring a different result.

The 2021 Miami Open champion thrilled the Grandstand crowd with a near-perfect serving performance, returning to the fourth round at the Hard Rock Stadium.

The Frenchman fell in the fourth-round, but he put on a show during his Australian Open campaign.

In front of his home fans, the 25-year-old Kokkinakis outlasted Arthur Rinderknech 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5), 6-3.

With four Russian men finishing the year ranked inside the Top 30, who is in pole position to lead the charge next season?

“Two years ago, we were in the semifinals,” said Andrey Rublev. “We are going to do our best to go further.”

Also, Paula Badosa makes her Top 10 debut on the WTA rankings and Emma Raducanu breaks into the Top 20.

Maria Sakkari, Ons Jabeur and Emma Raducanu are also among the players who set new highs this week.

While Korda has yet to drop a set to Karatsev in two matches, it appears the Russian is in a much better physical state at the tail end of the lengthy season.

"It's never easy playing against a really close friend," the fifth seed said Thursday.