The primary week of a Masters/WTA 1000 occasion can typically be quiet, however that was completely not the case in Miami in 2022.
A surprising announcement midweek fully modified the outlook of the occasion, which mixed with a dramatic run of upsets left one lady poised to take management of the WTA Tour.
Because the Miami Open continues this week, the query not who’s the brand new prime girls’s participant, however whether or not she will be able to cap off her historic occasion with one other trophy.
Right here’s what you’ll want to know.
In Case You Missed It: Świątek emerges from the chaos
The largest story of the week didn’t even happen on the courtroom as girls’s world primary Ashleigh Barty introduced her retirement proper firstly of the Miami Open.
Her retirement meant that the No. 1 rating was up for grabs with a lot of totally different girls in competition to assert it by the top of Miami.
Nevertheless, the battle for No. 1 ended up being fairly anti-climactic, because the draw collapsed in dramatic vogue with 4 of the highest six seeded girls dropping their opening matches. Greater than half of the seeded girls, 17 of 32, misplaced their first matches. Solely 9 of the seeds reached the final 16.
One lady who averted the mass seed exodus was Doha and Indian Wells champion Iga Świątek, who had the primary rating in her sights by the point she stepped on courtroom for her opening match. With a win, she would ascend to the highest spot after the event.
Needing only a single victory to maneuver as much as No. 1, the 20-year-old Pole made an announcement, dropping simply two video games in her opening match towards Viktorija Golubic as she assured that she is going to develop into the primary Polish tennis participant to be ranked primary on the planet this time subsequent week.
Świątek stays on monitor for the Sunshine Double, as she is thru to the final 16 with the lack of simply 5 video games and is the best seed left within the draw. Fellow Prime 10 seeds Paula Badosa, Ons Jabeur and Danielle Collins are all nonetheless alive, though Jabeur and Collins will meet within the fourth spherical.
That deluge of seeds defeated included Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, who lost her opening match in straight sets to Karoline Muchova.
Total, the singles occasions couldn’t have gone a lot worse for the Canadians as all 4 misplaced their opening matches. Together with Fernandez, Denis Shapovalov, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Rebecca Marino all failed to select up a win in Miami. Solely Marino even managed to win a set.
Nevertheless, the doubles went a bit higher.
Gabriela Dabrowski cruised by means of her opening match, however was overwhelmed in straight units in her second spherical match.
Regardless of his singles defeat, Shapovalov is having an amazing run in doubles, advancing to the quarter-finals with Rohan Bopanna. They’ve but to drop a set and upset the highest seeds Mate Pavic and Nikola Metkic within the second spherical.
The boys’s singles was considerably much less wild than the ladies’s with a lot of the favourites nonetheless within the draw. The largest participant to lose was No. 5 Andrey Rublev, who was upset by the in-form Nick Kyrgios. He and Auger-Aliassime have been the one Prime 10 gamers to lose within the first week (Matteo Berrettini additionally withdrew).
What to Watch: Sunshine Double nonetheless on the desk
Miami continues this week with the soon-to-be world primary Świątek seeking to not simply full the Sunshine Double, however develop into the primary lady to win the primary three WTA 1000 (or equal) titles of the 12 months.
Taylor Fritz additionally nonetheless has an opportunity to finish the Sunshine Double on the boys’s aspect as he’s nonetheless alive, though he has solely performed one match up to now in Miami.
The boys’s tour may additionally see a change at No. 1 relying on the Miami outcomes.
Daniil Medvedev would retake the highest spot he dropped final week ought to he attain the semi-finals. To get the highest spot again, he wants three extra wins, which may embrace a quarter-final match with the reigning Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz.
The Canadian focus in Miami this week is on the doubles with Shapovalov nonetheless competing.
Below the Radar:
Alexis Galarneau returned to ATP Challenger Tour motion final week after making his Davis Cup debut earlier in March, reaching the quarter-finals in Lille, dropping to prime seed Ricardas Berankis.
On the ITF Tour, Canada’s Kelsey Stevenson reached the doubles ultimate of the M15 occasion in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, dropping 10-8 in a match tiebreak.
Galarneau might be again in Challenger motion this week in St. Brieuc, France, whereas Steven Diez is competing in Pereira, Columbia.
You may comply with the Canadians in motion each week here.
