By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, March 18, 2019
Sloane Stephens enjoyed a joyous photo finish winning the 2018 Miami Open; will the defending champion find her focus in her return?
Photo credit: Miami Open Facebook
The Miami Open kicks off a new era this week showcasing several former champions trying to hit their stride.
The sun set on the tournament’s 32-year-run at Key Biscayne’s Crandon Park in a flash of red-white-and blue fireworks last spring as Americans Sloane Stephens and John Isner swept the Miami Open women’s and men’s singles titles.
Watch: Andreescu Edges Kerber In Indian Wells Final
The tournament debuts at the Hard Rock Stadium home of the Miami Dolphins, 20 miles north of Crandon Park.
How will players and fans transition from the tennis paradise of Key Biscayne to the 14,00-seat portable hard-court embedded in the heart of a football stadium surrounded by four massive high-definition screens?
We’re about to find out as tournament owner IMG and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross have invested in a $60 million trying to bring paradise to a parking lot.
In addition to the portable stadium court, the tournament features 29 courts, including 20 courts with lights, in the parking lot of the Hard Rock Stadium.
Tournament director James Blake and staff ambitiously aim to elevate the tournament to a cultural event with live music, art galleries and fine dining on site.
Here are our picks for Top 5 Storylines to follow in the Miami Open women’s draw.
Brutal Bottom Line
The bottom quarter of the draw is tougher than the Dolphins defense.
Three former world No. 1 players—second-seeded Simona Halep, Venus Williams and Serena Williams—reside in the same danger zone as sixth-seeded Elina Svitolina, 2017 champion Johanna Konta and St. Petersburg native Danielle Collins, who toppled Venus in the 2018 quarterfinals to make history as the first qualifier to reach the Miami Open semifinals.
Wild cards Coco Gauff, Whitney Osuigwe and 22-year-old Mari Osaka, Naomi Osaka's older sister, will all draw attention in this section.
Serena Williams owns a record eight Miami titles, regards the tournament as her home event and will enjoy home-field advantage: Serena and Venus each own a piece of the Dolphins and have attended home games in the past.
Yet the 20-time Grand Slam champion could face either 18th-seeded Wang Qiang or Konta in round three. Konta crushed Serena, 6-1, 6-0, in San Jose last summer—should they square off again it could be intense.
Venus is coming off a valiant run in Indian Wells, but was sometimes spinning in her first serve at 80 MPH and appeared to be pained by a shoulder or arm issue.
The 38-year-old Venus is playing for her 50th career title on the 20th anniversary of her victory over Serena in the 1999 Miami final. Venus faces a qualifier in the first round with the winner taking on 24th-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro in round two.
Deja Blue?
We could see a sunshine sequel.
Bianca Andreescu edged Angelique Kerber in a thrilling Indian Wells final to win her first WTA title on Sunday; the pair are on a collision course for a third-round showdown on the blue Hard Rock Stadium court.
The 18-year-old Canadian showed audacious shot-making skill and slick use of the dropper against one of the fastest, finest players in the sport. Andreescu also admitted “I can barely move out there” during her dynamic comeback from a break down in the final set to beat Kerber.
How will the teenager, who has posted a 27-3 record, including ITF matches, physically and mentally recovery from her draining career run?
The first woman wild card winner in Indian Wells history won’t have much time to recover. The 24th-ranked Andreescu opens against Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu, whom she beat 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3, in a tough test that was her Indian Wells opener, with the winner facing 32nd-seeded Sofia Kenin.
Hard hitters Aryna Sabalenka, Anett Kontaveit and Amanda Anisimova all operate in this quarter of the draw.
“Miami, it's a new tournament completely,” Kerber said. “The conditions are completely different… everything starts from zero. Everything is mixed up again. You have to play your first round again. You have to play good tennis.”
Champion's Challenge
Good news for reigning champion Sloane Stephens: the Fort Lauderdale native looks relaxed returning to the Sunshine State where she enjoys vocal fan support, she's had plenty of time to rest and recharge after a lethargic Indian Wells ouster and typically plays her most proactive tennis on American soil where she's won five of six career titles.
Miami is typically a faster and lower-bouncing court than Indian Wells, which should suit the speedy Stephens, who has the all-court skills to transition from defense to offense.
The bad news?
Stephens has yet to successfully defend a title in her career and confronts the pressure of defending 1,000 ranking points and the prospect of meeting champion-killer Camila Giorgi in round three. The 29th-seeded Italian, who attacks the ball like a wrecking ball beating up a pinata, has won two of three meetings with the 2017 US Open champion and nearly knocked Stephens out of Roland Garros last year, bowing 8-6 in the third set.
If that match comes off Stephens must compete with more energy and urgency than she showed in Indian Wells. If Stephens prevails, she’d potentially play 16th-seeded Elise Mertens or 22nd-seeded Jelena Ostapenko, whom she beat in the 2018 final, to reach a possible quarterfinal vs. fifth-seeded Karolina Pliskova, Dubai champion Belinda Bencic or 11th-seeded Anastasija Sevastova.
Reunion Road
The view from the top of the draw presents reunion prospects for Naomi Osaka.
The world No. 1 holds a 441-point lead over second-ranked Petra Kvitova and will try to bounce back from an Indian Wells round of 16 thrashing at the hands of a red-hot Bencic.
The US and Australian Open champion has a first-round bye and could face 27th-seeded Su-Wei Hsieh, who nearly upset Osaka in Melbourne, in the third round with a possible fourth-rounder against either Garbine Muguruza or Caroline Wozniacki, who has been slowed by a viral illness.
If Andreescu stretches her winning streak to reach a quarterfinal against Osaka it would be the first meeting between the pair.
First-Round Matches To Watch
Amanda Anisimova (USA) vs. Andrea Petkovic (GER)
Bianca Andreescu (CAN) vs. Irina-Camelia Begu (ROM)
Victoria Azarenka (BLR) vs. Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)
Barbora Strycova (CZE) vs. Marketa Vondrousova (CZE)