By Matthew Marolf
Rain disrupted play at multiple times during the past week, but after a jam-packed Order of Play on Friday, the tournament is back on schedule.
The men’s bottom half of the singles draw will complete their second round matches on Saturday, while the women’s top half will play their third rounds. And with this being a two-week event just like Indian Wells, the doubles draws feature many top singles players with some unique pairings, and are well worth your attention.
Sascha Zverev (2) vs. David Ferrer (WC)
Zverev is ranked third in the world, but seeded second in Miami due to the absence of Rafael Nadal. Ferrer was given a wild card to compete in one of his last professional tournaments, as he’ll retire at the Madrid Masters later this spring. The 36-year-old Spaniard got off to a strong start on Thursday, taking out American Sam Querrey in straight sets. Sascha holds a 4-2 edge in their career head-to-head, and has won their last four meetings. That includes a match last year in Miami, where Zverev came back to win after dropping the first set.
They also played just last month in Acapulco, where Sascha comfortably won the second set after claiming a first set tiebreak. In a non-tour match earlier this year, they met at the Hopman Cup, where the 21-year-old German prevailed in an extended battle decided by a third set tiebreak. A finalist in Miami last year, Zverev is definitely the favourite, but Ferrer is fully capable of making this interesting. He’ll be the sentimental favourite for sure, and will have the full support of the Miami crowd on Saturday evening.
Angelique Kerber (8) vs. Bianca Andreescu
In the other night match inside Hard Rock Stadium, it’s a rematch of the fantastic Indian Wells final from just six days ago. Coming off that life-changing victory, an early loss in Miami would have been understandable for the 18-year-old Canadian. But Andreescu fought back from down a set in her opening round this week, and won in straight sets just yesterday. Now she’ll face a three-time Major champion who will be thirsty for revenge.
Last Sunday, Andreescu was able to outhit Kerber deep in the third set despite exhaustion and the onset of cramps. During a changeover in that third set, Bianca told her coach, “I’m so tired.” But she would then say, “I want this so bad!” Her determination has been tremendously impressive, as is her record of 28-3 this year at all levels. This run though must come to an end at some point, and this feels like the match where that could happen. That being said, I’ve been wrong in betting against Bianca a few times in the past week alone.
Other notable matches on Day 6:
In his first match since losing the Indian Wells final to Dominic Thiem, Roger Federer (4) vs. Radu Albot, who upset Fabio Fognini in Indian Wells. Last year after losing the Indian Wells final, Federer lost his opening round match in Miami to Thanasi Kokkinakis.
In a rematch of a three-setter from this year’s Australian Open, Naomi Osaka (1) vs. Su-Wei Hsieh, who can drive her opponents crazy with her unique playing style.
