The Miami Open held their first event in 1985 at Delray Beach in Florida.
The event – the first of its kind in Miami – was originally called the Lipton International Players Championships.
Despite a host of stars participating in the event – such as Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander – it was America’s Tim Mayotte who emerged victorious from the tournament.
Mayotte, a two-time Australian Open semi-finalist, later described the result as a ‘breakthrough.’
Tim Mayotte’s run to the 1985 Miami Open title
Mayotte, unseeded at the event, began the 1985 Miami Open by defeating Nigeria’s Nduka Odizor 7-6, 4-6, 6-1.
He then defeated a young Boris Becker in straight sets, before knocking out compatriots Martin Davis and Greg Holmes.
Remarkably, Mayotte did not play one seeded player throughout the event, as he advanced to the final after beating Mike Leach and Jan Gunnarson.
In the final, Mayotte fought back from a two-set deficit, defeating Scott Davis 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
Tim Mayotte’s run in Miami…
| Round | Opponent | Score |
| One | Nduka Odizor | 7-6, 4-6, 6-1 |
| Two | Boris Becker | 6-2, 6-3 |
| Three | Martin Davis | 6-4, 6-4 |
| Four | Greg Holmes | 6-3, 7-6 |
| Quarter-finals | Mike Leach | 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 |
| Semi-finals | Jan Gunnarson | 7-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 |
| Final | Scott Davis | 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 |
In 2014, the American reacted to his title in Miami.
It was like, alright, I finally got one,” he said, as per the Miami Open. “It was definitely a breakthrough.
“My parents drove down from Bradenton to watch me play, which made it a real special one. They would always get nervous… they couldn’t watch.
“My father actually left the stadium and watched the match from a bar, not too far from there. Needless to say, he had a few drinks and started telling everybody, “Hey, that’s my son up there!” He had his own rooting section.
Speaking about the atmosphere, Mayotte [pictured below with Novak Djokovic] added: “I had played in majors, so I was used to dealing with media from all over.
“It was on national TV, but the exposure wasn’t what it is now. I mean, there were about 20 people in the stands and about 40-50 media members.
“But I’ll tell you there was tremendous excitement in the area and players were already looking at it as another Slam, especially with the Australian Open falling off in prestige a little – a lot of the players were looking at it like a ‘fifth’ major and one of the most prestigious tournaments, outside of the Slams.”
The last American to win the Miami Open
Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Michael Chang, Pete Sampras and Andy Roddick all lifted the illustrious Miami Open trophy during their respective careers.
The last American to lift the trophy was John Isner, who won the 2018 title.
Isner, seeded 14th, defeated Marin Cilic, Juan Martin del Potro and Alexander Zverev on his way to the title.
After beating Zverev 6–7, 6–4, 6–4 in the final, Isner told reporters: “Yeah, it’s incredible. I mean, you know, to come back, as well, after, you know, a pretty disappointing first set, a first set I had certainly some chances in and some break points, and was serving at 4-3 in the tiebreaker and lost four straight points.
“You know, at that point I was actually exhausted. Somewhere along in the second set I found a second wind, and I felt so much better in the second set and the third set than I did in the first set.
“To win like that in front of a crowd like that, with that atmosphere, you can’t replicate moments like that. It was absolutely amazing.’