Following Ash Barty’s sudden retirement from the sport, Iga Swiatek has solidified her spot as the new World No.1 come next Monday. But on this Monday, she faces another young player many believe is a future No.1, American Coco Gauff.
All women’s singles fourth round matches will be contested on a blockbuster day in Miami. In a clash of top 10 seeds, Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins takes on Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur. And after receiving a walkover in the last round, Naomi Osaka returns to action against American Alison Riske.
Meanwhile, men’s third round singles action will be completed on Monday. In Indian Wells, 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz almost took out 21-time Major champion Rafael Nadal. In Miami, he gets another chance to defeat a Slam champ in Marin Cilic. That’s just one of many appetizing third round men’s singles matches on Monday, with others including names such as Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsistipas, Hubert Hurkacz, and Taylor Fritz.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Monday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Ons Jabeur (8) vs. Danielle Collins (9) – 11:00am on Grandstand Court
Both players achieved the best results of their careers over the past 12 months. Collins was the runner-up at the Australian Open, while Jabeur became the first Arab tennis player to reach the top 10. Yet both have suffered injury setbacks of late, causing Danielle to miss Indian Wells, and Ons to pull out of the Australian. They’ve played twice before, with Collins winning on clay at the 2020 French Open, and Jabeur prevailing on a hard court at last October’s Indian Wells. On an American hard court, the punishing power of Collins, a Florida native, should be favored.
Iga Swiatek (2) vs. Coco Gauff (14) – Third on Stadium Court
Few young players have garnered more praise in recent years than these two. Their only previous encounter occurred last May on the clay of Rome, where Iga was victorious after two tight sets. That was part of Swiatek’s run to her first WTA 1000 title. Less than 12 months later, she now owns three. After back-to-back titles at that level in Doha and Indian Wells, she’s currently on a 13-match win streak. Through four sets played thus far in Miami, the 20-year-old has dropped only five games. Gauff’s progress has been a bit more gradual, though she’s also a few years younger, having just turned 18 earlier this month. Coco also won her first two matches this fortnight in straight sets, though not quite as authoritatively as Iga. And even though Gauff is a Florida native like Collins, and will have plenty of crowd support, her game is less consistent than that of Swiatek. An upset is not out of the question, but the soon-to-be No.1 player remains the favorite.
Other Notable Matches on Monday:
Daniil Medvedev (1) vs. Pedro Martinez – If Medvedev reaches the semifinals, he’ll take back the No.1 ranking just two weeks after losing it. When he played Martinez at the 2020 Australian Open, Daniil prevailed in straights.
Roberto Bautista Agut (15) vs. Jenson Brooksby – Bautista Agut was the champion in Doha last month, while Brooksby was the runner-up in Dallas. This is their first career meeting.
Alison Riske vs. Naomi Osaka – Riske ended 2021 by winning a hard court title in Linz. But three years ago in Beijing, she lost to Osaka 6-4, 6-0.
Hubert Hurkacz (8) vs. Aslan Karatsev (29) – Hurkacz is the defending champion, and also won a hard court title last September in Metz. He has split two previous tour-level meetings with Karatsev, both of which occurred last fall.
Carlos Alcaraz (14) vs. Marin Cilic (21) – Alcaraz is now 13-2 on the year, while Cilic arrived in Miami on a three-match losing streak. When they played last April on the clay of Estoril, Marin prevailed in three.
Taylor Fritz (11) vs. Tommy Paul – Indian Wells champion Fritz is now 8-0 this month. Paul is his good friend, who has earned a career-high ranking of No.37 with impressive victories over the likes of Sascha Zverev, Matteo Berrettini, and Denis Shapovalov. These Americans went 1-1 against each other last fall.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (3) vs. Alex de Minaur (25) – Tsitsipas overcame an inspired effort from qualifier J.J. Wolf in the last round. The Greek is 9-1 against de Minaur at all levels, which includes four straight-set wins since February of last year.
Paula Badosa (5) vs. Linda Fruhvirtova (WC) – 16-year-old Fruhvirtova is the youngest player to make the fourth round of the Miami Open in 18 years. Badosa is 15-5 in 2022, and just a few wins away from becoming the No.2 player in the world.
Monday’s full Order of Play is here.
