Monday will see the top half of the men’s singles draw play their third round matches, while all 16 women remaining in singles will play their fourth round matches.
The round of 16 in the WTA singles draw features four of the top five seeds, all of whom face seeded competition on Monday. Plus, two of the fastest men to ever play this sport, Carlos Alcaraz and Gael Monfils, will square off in the third round.
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.
Madison Keys (17) vs. Elena Rybakina (4) – Not Before 1:00pm on Stadium Court
Rybakina has already endured two three-setters this past week, each decided by a tight 6-4 third set. And both were against qualifiers: Clara Tauson and Taylor Townsend. Elena missed Indian Wells due to illness, yet is now 19-3 on the year. She was the runner-up in Miami a year ago.
Madison Keys is a Florida resident, yet surprisingly owns a losing record of 11-12 at her home state’s biggest tournament. Only once has she advanced beyond the third round in Miami. This is just her second tournament of the year, though she didn’t drop a set in her first two matches.
Service breaks in this one will likely be a precious commodity, in a match between two of the WTA’s biggest servers and ball strikers. While Rybakina is the more in-form player at this point of this season, Keys leads their head-to-head 2-1, with all three meetings occurring during 2022. Their most relevant previous matchup is from the Cincinnati quarterfinals in this same country, where Madison comfortably prevailed 6-2, 6-4.
But on Monday, I expect Elena to even their record at two-a-piece. Her 19 wins on the season, as compared to just three for Keys, will give Rybakina a considerable edge in confidence. And for the past two years, Elena has been one of the WTA’s toughest outs.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Gael Monfils – Not Before 7:00pm on Stadium Court
Alcaraz is now 13-3 this year, and the Indian Wells champ has built a seven-match win streak. He won this tournament two years ago, and reached the semifinals in 2023. Carlitos was not tested in his opening round, defeating fellow Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena 6-2, 6-1.
Monfils is just 10-7 this season, but has now won five of his last six matches. In Indian Wells, he was victorious in a pair of dramatic three-setters against Hubert Hurkacz and Cameron Norrie. And over the weekend in Miami, he came back from a set down to overcome Jordan Thompson. Gael is only 14-11 lifetime at this event, with his quarterfinal appearance in 2016 being his best result.
They’ve only played once before, with Alcaraz taking a straight-setter two years ago in Indian Wells. This matchup should provide some scintillating rallies, and plenty of highlight reel material, but Carlitos is the clear favorite to advance.
Other Notable Matches on Monday:
Sascha Zverev (4) vs. Christopher Eubanks (31) – Eubanks completed one of the best match points saves you will ever see against Dan Evans on Saturday evening, coming from behind in a third-set tiebreak. Zverev spent less than half the time on court as compared to Eubanks, easily dispatching of Felix Auger-Aliassime in straights. Sascha claimed their only previous meeting, a year ago on clay in Geneva.
Coco Gauff (3) vs. Caroline Garcia (23) – Garcia won two tight sets against Naomi Osaka on Sunday, while Gauff has dropped just seven games through four sets to this stage. These players have split four prior encounters, all on hard courts.
Emma Navarro (20) vs. Jessica Pegula (5) – Pegula eliminated Leylah Fernandez in the last round, and Navarro won a three-setter against recent Dubai champion Jasmine Paolini. This is the first matchup between these two Americans.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova (14) – Swiatek survived a stern test from Linda Noskova on Sunday night. Earlier in the day, Alexandrova took out Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three. Iga is 3-1 against Ekaterina, and has claimed their last three matches, including one just a month ago in Doha.
Monday’s full Order of Play is here.
