Reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu received a hard-fought draw for the Miami Open.
With 27 of the top 30 players in the world coming out, it was never possibly an easy road for the second week for Raducanu.
Radacanu finds himself in a stacked top quarter of the draw, which includes top seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka has a first round farewell and will face either Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania or American Wildcard Hailey Baptiste in the second round.
Raducanu must also be careful not to underestimate their first opponent, who will be either Katerina Siniakova or a qualifier.
The 11th seed has a potential date with former world number 1 Simona Halep in the round of 32.
Sixth seed Karolina Pliskova could hit Raducanu or Halep in the fourth round, should she make it this far.
Anett Kontaveit leads the second quarter of the Miami Open draw.
Kontaveit is still a huge 43-8 since last August despite their early exit from Indian Wells.
Kontaveit will face either Ann Li or Mayar Sheriff in the second round.
Former world number one Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber also spin in Kontaveit’s quarterfinals, as does 18th seed Leylah Fernandez, last year’s US Open runner-up.
A fighting Osaka will face Astra Sharma in the first round, with the winner going up against Kerber.
If we are forgiven, Fernandez can wait for the victory in the third round, if in the second round she passes the winner of the all-Czech battle between Karolina Muchova and Tereza Martincova.
Ninth seed Danielle Collins is the top-ranked American after her run in the Australian Open final earlier this year.
Collins could be up for a round-of-16 clash against Ons Jabeur, set eighth.
Four and five seeds Maria Sakkari and Paula Badosa would make an exciting quarterfinal, but they have work to do to make it.
Badosa was able to meet former world number 1 Victoria Azarenka in the round of 16.
Azarenka enjoyed great success in Miami, winning the title three times, in 2009, 2011, and 2016.
While Azarenka is the youngest player to pull off the “Sunshine Double” among women singlecharts, Indian Wells and Miami claim back-to-back in 2016, she suffered an emotional breakdown in her last outing.
Sakkari, meanwhile, could face either 26th seed Madison Keys or 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the third round.
If Sakkari wins the round of 16, she will face off against whoever comes out of a packed section with 2018 Miami champion Sloane Stephens, 16th seed Jessica Pegula, and 17th seed Elena Rybakina.
In the fourth quarter of the draw, Iga Swiatek will try to keep her unbeaten record at WTA 1000 events this season alive and finish the Sunshine Double.
Swiatek will face either Viktorija Golubic or a qualifier in the second round, and could face 14. Seed and strong local hope Coco Gauff in round 16.
Garbiñe Muguruza is also in the fourth quarter, and she was able to fight against the 28th Petra Kvitova in the third round, while the 10th. Seed Jelena Ostapenko, the 2018 Miami Runner-Up, waited in round 16.
Add Comment