Miami Open Players To Watch
Elena Rybakina (10-1): Rybakina has faced Andreeva in back-to-back events, but they’re on opposite sides of the bracket in Miami. Despite those losses, I've been impressed with Rybakina’s level of late. And I think there’s a real shot we see the 25-year-old go deep in Miami again. We really only remember the champions, but Rybakina has been to back-to-back Miami Open finals. The super-fast conditions, with low-bouncing courts, really favor her big serve. Over the last 52 weeks, only Swiatek has a higher hold percentage than Rybakina’s 78.2%. Rybakina also has a solid baseline game for these courts.
Her draw is tough: She’ll likely face Qinwen Zheng in the fourth round, and Sabalenka in the quarterfinals. But Zheng isn’t the player she was last season, and Rybakina has always played Sabalenka tough—she has won two of their last three matches.
Ekaterina Alexandrova (50-1): When looking at 1000-level events, it’s always fun to try and pick out a sleeper. BetMGM has Alexandrova at +800 to win Quarter 2, and I think there’s a reasonable chance she can. She's coming off back-to-back early exits, but I believe fatigue was a factor in her match against Veronika Kudermetova in Dubai. Alexandrova had just won a title in Linz and then went all the way to the semifinals in Doha. That’s a lot of tennis in a short stretch. Also, I don’t really consider Indian Wells much when looking at Miami, so her loss to Polina Kudermetova in the first round means little to me.
What I like about Alexandrova is that she’s aggressive and has solid serving and returning numbers. She’s also very good at playing quick-strike tennis. The conditions in Miami should suit her extremely well. She made the semifinals here last year, losing to eventual champion Collins. That came right after wins over Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula. Alexandrova is more dangerous than you think.
