Bye bye Indian Wells, hello Miami! Wednesday welcomed the first day of main draw action at the new Miami Open after Tuesday’s washout. The day ended with yet another deluge which means there is another insane schedule set for Thursday. The tournament has moved to the Hard Rock stadium (more HERE). I think I like the courts – they seem way faster than Indian Wells but that’s not saying much 🤣. With the more favourable time difference, i’m hoping to be a bit more involved on the blog for this tournament. Read on for four stories from Wednesday’s action in Miami.
Azarenka’s first three set win of 2019
Victoria Azarenka beat Dominika Cibulkova, surviving a nervy conclusion to win, 6-2 3-6 6-4 in two hours and 31 minutes. It was actually a pretty decent contest for the first match on the Hard Rock Stadium. This was another step in the right direction for Azarenka who won her first three set match since Cincy last year.
After Cibulkova levelled up at one set all and went up an early break in the decider, I really questioned whether Azarenka believed that she could win the match. Cibulkova started to dictate with the forehand and Azarenka looked a tad on the careful side. It was clear confidence was lacking from both sides towards the end as errors and double faults creeped into both of their games. Azarenka showed an intent to be more aggressive and returned strongly at the end.
I think this was a huge win for Azarenka, as demonstrated by her reaction, and her most important of the 2019 season as as she continues to build her confidence. Next up for Azarenka is a second round encounter with Caroline Garcia on Thursday. Winnable based on the Frenchwoman’s recent form…
Anisimova into R2
Amanda Anisimova had trouble closing out Andrea Petkovic but got the job done in straights, 6-4 6-3. Next up is Anett Kontaveit in the second round. The American player was interview by Tennis Channel after the match and she spoke about her connection with the tournament. She’s always so calm and measured in interviews and press.
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Thursday’s OOP 🎆
This schedule is insane.
Safarova announces intention to play Prague
I’d been wondering of late whether we’d see Lucie Safarova play again. Lucie confirmed on Tuesday that she will play Prague, both singles and doubles, the latter with Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Via Karel Knap on Twitter, there is a possibility that she could still play Paris but it depends on getting a wild card. Sad times but i’m happy that Lucie will get the proper send-off that she deserves.
Moo's Tennis Blog 
I really miss your day-to-day predictions! I really found them interesting! Any intentions to do all matches for Miami ?🤪🤩
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I’m intending to do some predictions for Miami, doubt I will have time to cover all matches!
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Garcia beats Vika! I honestly think her poor results this year have largely been bad luck with drawing players who are playing inspired stuff early in a tournament. Hoping she has a good clay season and brings it together.
Also Andreescu came from a set down to win another long match! She’ll have to be careful or she’ll do herself damage trying to keep this up.
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Surprised about that Garcia-Azarenka result.
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Garcia almost bageled Azarenka in set one, but after a magnificent passing shot, Victoria got really pumped and Caroline started to show nerves. But overall, it was great tactics from Garcia. She played with a lot of spin, which made it very difficult for Vika to get inside the court.
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Only seen highlights so far but Domi vs Vika was a good match and it looks like Vika’s coming back into form now, which is good to see.
Also, Sam Stosur’s playing well at the moment and managed to beat Madi Keys; she’ll be 35 next week.
Several people on Youtube have commented that it’s hard to see the ball against the court though, it’s not an easy colour combination.
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I haven’t really had any trouble? I wonder if these people who complain ever used to watch back in the day when most the courts were a dull green/grey colour. Now THAT was hard to watch!
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I haven’t had a problem with watching this week with the colour of the courts either.
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