Miami tournament director Adam Barrett admits that ticket sales have been affected by the absence of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, arguably the world’s two most popular tennis players.
"Roger and Rafa, it's a bad break,'' Barrett told the Sun-Sentinel. "Two storms came together for two completely different reasons for them both not to be here. We still have the top eight men and top nine women. You miss those guys; they're great ambassadors of the game. You play with the field you have and we have a great field. Ticket sales are slightly down, but we're talking percentages after three record years in a row.''
David Ferrer said that back-to-back tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami makes it tough on the players.
"The players know that, but what can we do?" Ferrer said. "It's not good for the fans and the tournament that Rafa and Roger aren't here, but there are other players to focus on."
Jelena Jankovic took a stronger stand on the schedule.
"Having two huge tournaments, almost like two Grand Slams, back to back is tough physically and mentally on players," she said. “It's always a risk when you play that much. They'd have to change the whole schedule … There should be a reformation.''