Thursday features first round men’s singles matches and second round women’s singles action, while the men’s and women’s doubles draws both also get underway.
A resurgent Maria Sakkari, who is coming off a run to the final last week in Indian Wells, plays her opening round match on Thursday afternoon against Yue Yuan, who won her first WTA title just a few weeks ago in Austin. Plus, three-time Miami Open champion Victoria Azarenka takes on impressive young American Peyton Stearns, who very-nearly upset Aryna Sabalenka in Indian Wells.
Other action on Thursday includes last year’s runner-up Elena Rybakina, the tour return of Kei Nishikori, and doubles matches featuring the likes of Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Alex de Minaur.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Thursday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Maria Sakkari (8) vs. Yue Yuan – Not Before 1:00pm on Stadium Court
Sakkari arrived in Indian Wells having lost four of her last five matches, as well as four of her five last matches at Majors. But her decision to hire David Witt as her new coach paid immediate dividends, as she advanced to the Indian Wells final with victories over Caroline Garcia, Emma Navarro, and Coco Gauff.
But she cannot afford a dip in her level against her opponent on Thursday. Yue has claimed 10 of her last 11 contests, and defeated Anna Blinkova in straights sets on Tuesday. The 25-year-old from China was ranked outside the top 100 only four months ago, but ended 2023 by reaching four consecutive finals at all levels, and is now at a career-high of No.37.
The WTA detailed Yuan’s recent and surprising rise in this new article, which outlines how a coincidental meeting with former ATP player Jose Hernandez-Fernandez last month in Austin led to him becoming her coach despite a lack of coaching experience, and led to her becoming a first-time WTA titleholder that same week. So both players are feeling confident with new voices in their camps.
Their only prior meeting occurred last year at the Australian Open, when Sakkari prevailed 6-1, 6-4. While Yue is a much-improved player today, and Maria is just 7-6 lifetime in Miami, I still favor the Greek on Thursday. Sakkari possesses the bigger weapons on court, and she’s had several days to recover physically and emotionally from her big fortnight in Indian Wells.
Peyton Stearns vs. Victoria Azarenka (27) – Not Before 7:00pm on Grandstand Court
Two Saturdays ago in tennis paradise, 22-year-old Peyton Stearns held four match points against Aryna Sabalenka, yet failed to close out the match, with Aryna eventually winning in a third-set tiebreak. Peyton was a highly successful collegiate player, and has made quite an impact on tour this past year. After reaching the third round of Roland Garros last May, she advanced to the second week of the US Open, and was even up a set against Wimbledon champ Marketa Vondrousova in the fourth round.
Azarenka’s first title in Miami came 15 years ago, with the others occurring in 2011 and 2016. But she has not been beyond the fourth round here since 2018, and is a modest 10-5 in 2024. In Indian Wells, she lost her opening match in three sets to another American, Caroline Dolehide.
Stearns has described her on-court mantra as “go big or go home,” as she’s an aggressive hitter and a dogged competitor. In her first career meeting with the two-time Major champ on Thursday night, Peyton won’t shy away from being boisterous and encouraging the American crowd to get behind her. However, she’ll still be the underdog against Azarenka, especially at the most successful WTA 1000 tournament of Vika’s career, where she has accumulated 40 match wins.
Other Notable Matches on Thursday:
Sebastian Ofner vs. Kei Nishikori (WC) – This will be Nishikori’s first match since last July in Atlanta, which was his first ATP event since 2021. Injuries have continually disrupted Kei’s career for the past five years. Ofner is ranked 40th in the world thanks to 60 match wins last season at all levels, but comes into this match having lost eight of his last 10.
Anhelina Kalinina (32) vs. Caroline Wozniacki (WC) – Wozniacki achieved the first quarterfinal of her unretirement last week in Indian Wells, and comfortably defeated Clara Burel in straight sets on Tuesday. Kalinina was a surprising finalist last May in Rome, though she’s just 5-8 in 2024.
Thanasi Kokkinakis and Stefanos Tsitsipas (WC) vs. Alex de Minaur and Rinky Hijikata – Kokkinakis and Tsitsipas are both of Greek descent, and are a new doubles pairing taking on two of Thanasi’s Australian countrymates, who are teaming together for just the second time.
Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula (5) vs. Ashlyn Krueger and Sloane Stephens (WC) – This is an all-American doubles matchup featuring two Major singles champions. For the regular pairing of Gauff and Pegula, this is only the second tournament of the year, while Krueger and Stephens just started playing together two weeks ago in Indian Wells.
Dusan Lajovic vs. Gael Monfils – Monfils went on a nice run in Indian Wells, taking out both Hubert Hurkacz and Cameron Norrie in dramatic affairs. He is 2-0 against Lajovic, who is 7-7 on the year.
Clara Tauson (Q) vs. Elena Rybakina (4) – Rybakina was forced to pull out of Indian Wells due to illness, and is defending finalist points from a year ago at this event. She is an impressive 17-3 this season, with two titles (Brisbane, Abu Dhabi). Tauson is a 21-year-old from Denmark who has been discussed as a player with great potential, yet as per Tennis Abstract, is only 2-8 lifetime against top 20 players.
Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.
