Wednesday features first round action in both the men’s and women’s singles draws.
The top men and women in the world are all present in Miami, with the notable exception of Novak Djokovic, who is skipping this tournament after an early loss in Indian Wells. The top 32 seeds receive a bye in the 96-player singles draws, meaning seeded players will contest their opening matches later this week.
But Wednesday’s schedule still features some top names, and a few blockbuster first round encounters. In a battle of Major champions to open the day’s play inside Hard Rock Stadium, recently-returned new mother Angelique Kerber faces 2018 Miami Open champ Sloane Stephens. Later in the day, two-time Miami champ Andy Murray plays Matteo Berrettini, who is just returning from yet another injury layoff. Plus, more Major champs in Naomi Osaka and Sofia Kenin will also be in action on Wednesday.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Wednesday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Sloane Stephens vs. Angelique Kerber – 12:00pm on Stadium Court
Kerber was in good form in Indian Wells, where she defeated Petra Martic, Jelena Ostapenko, and Veronika Kudermetova. However, she was suffering from a back injury in her straight-set loss to Caroline Wozniacki. Angie is 19-12 lifetime in Miami, with her semifinal appearance back in 2016 being her best result.
Stephens’ title run here in 2018 came just six months after her surprising US Open triumph, and saw her beat four Major champions. One of them was Kerber, who she thumped 6-1, 6-2 in the quarterfinals. But Sloane’s most recent results have been much more modest, and she’s just 7-7 on the year.
Overall Stephens leads their head-to-head 5-2. They’ve only played once within the past five years, which saw Kerber be victorious three years ago in the third round of the US Open. Yet with this being only the fourth tournament of Angie’s comeback, and considering the back injury she was hampered by just a week ago, Sloane should be favored in this first round matchup.
Andy Murray vs. Matteo Berrettini (PR) – Third on Stadium Court
This will be Berrettini’s first ATP-level match since last year’s US Open, when he suffered a gruesome ankle injury in the second round. Matteo was scheduled to return this past January at the Australian Open, but pulled out of that tournament with a foot injury. Matteo did play a Challenger event last week in Phoenix, where he was the runner-up. Surprisingly, this is only the Italian’s third main draw match in Miami, and he is 0-2 here.
Murray is 29-11 at the Miami Open, with his two titles coming in 2009 and 2013. This year, which he has hinted may be his last on tour, he is just 3-7, after starting the year 0-4. Two weeks ago in Indian Wells, he comfortably ousted David Goffin in the first round, before losing in straights to Andrey Rublev.
Berrettini is 3-2 against Murray, though their last meeting went to the Brit, and it was a doozy. At last year’s Australian Open, Andy prevailed after nearly five hours in a fifth-set tiebreak, and after Matteo missed an easy put away while holding a match point. Murray’s recent form has been disappointing, but with Berrettini having missed so much time due to injuries, I give Andy the slight edge to pull this one out.
Other Notable Matches on Wednesday:
Tomas Machac vs. Darwin Blanch (WC) – Blanch is a much-talked about 16-year-old American making his tour-level debut, who trains alongside Carlos Alcaraz at the Juan Carlos Ferrero Academy. Machac is a 23-year-old from the Czech Republic who already owns victories this season over the likes of Frances Tiafoe, Andy Murray, and Stan Wawrinka.
Donna Vekic vs. Karolina Pliskova – Vekic may be the higher-ranked player, but Pliskova has dominated this rivalry, with a 7-1 edge at tour level.
Katie Volynets (Q) vs. Sofia Kenin – Kenin showed signs of rediscovering her previous form during 2023, but is just 1-7 in 2024, and arrives on a six-match losing streak. Volynets is a 22-year-old American who reached the third round of Indian Wells two weeks ago, with wins over Mirra Andreeva and Ons Jabeur. Last year in San Diego, Kenin beat Volynets in three sets.
Elisabetta Cocciaretto vs. Naomi Osaka – Osaka is 5-5 since her comeback from child birth began in January, though she’s now claimed five of her last seven matches. Cocciaretto is coming off a title run just last week at an ITF-level event in Charleston.
Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.
