Friday features second round action in both the men’s and women’s singles draws.
A pair of new mothers will face off on Friday, as four-time Major champion Naomi Osaka takes on 2018 WTA Finals champ Elina Svitolina. Also, top-seeded Iga Swiatek plays her opening match against the always-dangerous Italian, Camila Giorgi. Plus, Coco Gauff, Jannik Sinner, and Daniil Medvedev will also be in singles action.
And it will be an extremely challenging return to the court for Aryna Sabalenka, following the tragic death of her ex-boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov earlier this week. She will face a good friend of hers, Paula Badosa, in what will surely be an emotional occasion for both.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Friday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Naomi Osaka vs. Elina Svitolina (15) – Fourth on Grandstand Court
Osaka is now 6-5 since returning to the sport this past January after giving child birth. She defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto in straight sets on Wednesday, and is vying to win multiple matches at her third consecutive event. Naomi is 13-6 in Miami, and the last time she played here, in 2022, she made the final.
Svitolina is now 27-13 at tour level since returning to the sport nearly a year ago after giving child birth. She is 10-4 in 2024, and her four losses have all come against in-form players (Swiatek, Gauff, Navarro, Noskova). Elina is 13-8 at this tournament, and was a semifinalist here in 2021.
These players have split six previous meetings, all on hard courts. However, it’s been over five years since they last played, and both players are in quite different places now. Osaka is still very early in her comeback, while Svitolina has upped her aggression since returning to the sport. But on the rather fast-playing hard courts in Miami, I give Naomi the slight edge to hit her way to victory, as her form has continually improved during her comeback.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Camila Giorgi – Not Before 7:00pm on Stadium Court
Swiatek is 20-2 on the season, after winning Indian Wells without dropping a set. In what has become typical Iga fashion, she was completely dominant throughout the fortnight, losing just 21 games across 11 completed sets. And the World No.1 is also on a six-match winning streak in Miami, as she won the title in 2022 and did not play in 2023.
The Miami Open has not been kind to Giorgi over the years, as she’s just 3-7 lifetime at this event. And she’s just 3-5 on the year, with her ranking having dropped out of the top 100 due to her points from hard court title last February dropping off. But this surface remains her strongest, and her aggressive nature make her a threat against just about anyone.
And that includes Swiatek, as these players have split their two prior encounters. However, Giorgi’s victory came over five years ago at the Australian Open, before Swiatek was a top player. At the 2021 Australian Open, Iga was victorious 6-2, 6-4. On Friday, I expect a confident Swiatek to continue her winning streak. And Iga is well beyond experiencing a letdown in form after winning a big title.
Other Notable Matches on Friday:
Paula Badosa vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Their head-to-head stands at two-a-piece, with Sabalenka having taken the two most recent matches.
Coco Gauff (3) vs. Nadia Podoroska (Q) – Gauff is 16-4 this season, but she’s yet to advance beyond the fourth round at her home state’s biggest tournament. This is her first meeting with Podoroska, a qualifier who has already won three matches this past week.
Andy Murray vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry (29) – This is a rematch from this past January’s Australian Open, where Etcheverry easily prevailed in straight sets. Overall he is 2-1 against Murray, with their other two matchups being extremely tight three-setters that each lasted over three hours.
Andrea Vavassori (Q) vs. Jannik Sinner (2) – Sinner was clearly bothered by a leg injury during his semifinal loss to Carlos Alcaraz in Indian Wells last week, his first loss of the year. Will he be close to 100% this fortnight? Vavassori is a fellow Italian who survived two third-set tiebreaks just to qualify for this event.
Marton Fucsovics vs. Daniil Medvedev (3) – Medvedev was the runner-up to Alcaraz last Sunday in Indian Wells for the second straight year. Daniil is the defending champion of this tournament, and is 3-1 against Fucsovics at tour level.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.
