The Miami Open, which takes place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, this year without Novak Djokovic, isn’t exactly devoid of drama.
At Indian Wells, Carlos Alcaraz triumphed twice more, defeating Daniil Medvedev in the championship match and Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.
Now that he is searching for the Sunshine Double, the Spaniard is well aware of the requirements needed to prevail in this competition.
Alcaraz is a winner of the Miami Open from 2022, and these circumstances are ideal for his style of play.
Sinner had been the greatest player in the world in 2024, so he will be keen to move on from the setback in the desert. Moreover, Medvedev, who is the current champion, will undoubtedly comment on all of it.
We’re going to have an amazing week in South Beach with those three individuals in the mix along with a ton of other players who have the ability to win this trophy. Before placing a wager on the event, make sure you read the following facts.
The hard court used for this tournament is a Laykold Cushion Plus, rated an ITF Court Pace Rating of Category 2. This indicates that the game will be played at a slow to medium pace.
However, the climate here differs slightly from that of Indian Wells. The ball bounces lower than it does in the desert, even though this tournament also plays slower than your typical hard court. On the other hand, the ball may travel through the air more slowly with heavy humidity.
It should be mentioned that as the temperature gets close to the mid-80s, these circumstances can become extremely uncomfortable.
There are not many days like that in the 10-day outlook. If circumstances alter, however, be sure to include a player who you know is in excellent condition.
One of the world’s cleanest ball strikers, Sebastian Korda, ought to be able to serve a little bit better in Miami than it did at Indian Wells.
Alcaraz’s performance at Indian Wells last week silenced a few naysayers. Sinner appeared to be pulling away from him just as the Spaniard took the lead and defeated him to capture his first championship since Wimbledon.
Alcaraz achieved it with a sharper baseline game and an enhanced serve, the latter of which has been requested.
Alcaraz did lose to Sinner here last year, but he now appears to be the guy to beat once more. Will he be able to counter Sinner’s influence on courts with lower bounce rates?
Sinner is not required to perform any tasks this week. He has already won the Australian Open and is 16-1 on the year.
But after losing to Alcaraz in the desert, the Italian will want to go out and win this. Last year, Sinner defeated Alcaraz in Miami thanks to some strong deep-court strokes that left the Spaniard with little time to think. If the two meet in the championship game this year, he’ll require more of that.
