The 2021 edition of the Miami Open is turning out to be a tournament for the favorites. Almost all of the top eight seeds in the men’s and women’s side have made it to the second round. Six of the top eight seeds in the men’s side have passed the second round. All of the top eight seeds in the women’s singles have waltzed past the third round. The men’s big three of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer are not competing in the tournament. The excitement remains thanks to the new faces that stood out in the first few days of the Miami Open.
Men’s Singles – Medvedev Eases to Third Round; Goffin, Zverev Ousted
Top favorite Daniil Medvedev is proving to everyone that he is the man to beat. After drawing a bye in the first round, the Russian World No. 2 demolished Lu Yen-hsun of Chinese-Taipei in the second round. Medvedev unleashed nine aces and had only one double fault to defeat Lu. He marches into the third round and faces Alexei Popyrin. The Australian subdued 30th seed Reilly Opelka in straight sets. There are plenty of other seeded stars who are still in the running. They include seventh seed Roberto Bautista Agut, fifth-ranked Diego Schwartzman, and fourth seed Andrey Rublev. Othhers include number six Dennis Shapovalov, and second-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Two of the top eight seeds, meanwhile, got the door. They lost to their respective opponents in the second round. First was third seed Alexander Zverev, who was stunned by Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori in three sets. The other player, eighth-ranked David Goffin, lost 3-6 1-6 to James Duckworth. This early, the tournament is shaping to be a clash of next-generation stars who are taking advantage of the absences of the sport’s Big Three of Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal. Pro tennis odds are favoring Medvedev to go all the way and win this year’s edition of the 2021 Miami Open.
Women’s Side Remains a Wide-Open Race
The women’s singles tournament is shaping up to be an exciting race to the top with most third-round qualifiers having at least contended for a Grand Slam title. Still in the hunt for the Miami Open women’s title are the second seed and four-time Grand Slam titlist Naomi Osaka, former US Open titlist and sixth seed Karolina Pliskova, former Australian Open winner and number four Sofia Kenin, two-time Grand Slam winner, and 12th seed Garbine Muguruza, number eight and former US Open champ Bianca Andreescu, fifth seed Elina Svitolina, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, 15th-ranked and French Open winner Iga Swiatek, two-time Grand slam titlist and number three Simona Halep, seventh seed Aryna Sabalenka, three-time champion Angelique Kerber, 14th seed and former Australian Open champ Viktoria Azarenka and top seed and former French Open titleholder Ashleigh Barty.
The unpredictability of the women’s tournament has placed top-tier tennis betting sites on a bind on who they will pick for this event. You can bet on a current top seed netter due to her excellent showing in the past few months. However, you can also go for a grizzled veteran who just needs a morale-boosting victory to rekindle their old glory.
2021 Miami Open: Exciting Week Ahead
The absence of the men’s singles big three of Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer has made the 2021 Miami Open a wide-open tournament with Medvedev emerging as the slight favorite. However, with fellow next-gen superstars Tsistsipas and Rublev in the mix, it will still be difficult to predict who will emerge as the winner. On the women’s side, it will be a toss-up between Osaka and Barty on who will secure the title. However, this tournament has its share of surprise endings that could produce further shakeup in the world rankings and the tennis scene as a whole.
