What we learned from Miami 2021
A few things we learned from the Miami Open…
Bianca Andreescu is back
After taking more than a full year away from the WTA Tour to rehab her injured knee, Bianca Andreescu struggled in her return this year.
She crashed out of the Australian Open in the 2nd round, and getting to the semifinals of the Phillip Island Trophy against inferior opponents doesn’t count for too much.
Miami was a different story.
Despite having to retire in the finals against Ash Barty while down 3-6, 0-4, Miami was a positive return to prominence for “Bibi”. She showed, as per usual, her mettle against tough opponents – winning four straight 3-setters (three of them against the 28th, 12th & 23rd ranked players) to get into the final.
The fact that she lost in the finals and injured her ankle shouldn’t be much of a concern moving forward, and Miami should be seen as a massive step back in the right direction for the big-match player. Don’t expect deep runs in Europe on the clay and grass (although let’s be honest, it wouldn’t be too shocking to see her to get into the business end of a tournament or two) but look for Bianca to rebound once the tour hits the hard courts later this summer, as she will be one of the favourites for the game’s biggest hard court titles.
Bibi will lift a trophy or two when the pressure, and temperature, come to a boiling point during the North American swing.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Jannik Sinner is ready for the big time
Sinner has been one of the more highly touted prospects in recent memory – and for good reason. The 19-year-old Italian has many of the tools to become a top player on the ATP Tour.
He’s extremely fit, has great retrieving abilities, an uber-heavy top-spin backhand and a great on-court demeanour. He has already won two titles on the ATP Tour, and now has his 1st Masters 1000 final under his belt. Despite losing to Hubert Hurkacz (who career-bested this week by beating Tsitsipas, Rublev, Shapovalov, Raonic & Sinner in the final to win), the experience of going through the field over two weeks will aid him greatly in the Grand Slams, where he has only played 10 matches (and has a 5-5 record – although 4 of those wins came at Roland Garros last year en route to his first major quarterfinal).
His coach, Riccardo Piatti, has said that Sinner still needs more time to “get the ATP Tour”, but it’s clear for all to see that his natural talents can take him far in tennis – and Sinner knows it.
He has spoken about investing his all of earnings back into his tennis, which is more of a commitment than many young players can say. Look for Sinner to make a mark on the tour during the clay season, and once he gets more polish on his game, he will be a force to reckon with across the entire calendar.
Vasek Pospisil has some issues with the ATP
The usually stoic Vasek Pospisil came unglued during his 1st round loss to Mackenzie McDonald – losing his temper on the chair umpire, and perhaps spilling the beans on the inner-workings of the ATP Tour.
Apparently, ATP Tour Chief Andrea Gaudenzi had a differing opinion than Pospisil regarding the possibility of the players uniting through association and berated him for an hour and a half the day before the match.
A visibly upset Pospisil was clearly distracted, and there will undoubtedly be more to come on this, but it was odd to see one of the more reserved and well-respected players on tour lose his cool on court.
Pospisil was one of the co-founders of the Novak Djokovic-led Professional Tennis Players’ Association (PTPA) and has been a member of the ATP Player’s Council from 2018-2020. The dynamic between the players and the tour has certainly shifted in the last 12 months, and it will be interesting to see what potential fireworks come about again.
Alexander Bublik is extremely entertaining on and off the court
Watching Alexander Bublik play in Miami was a lot of fun.
He’s an entertaining player with a massive serve and an unpredictable nature – you never know what he’ll do during the rally. He’s at a career-high ranking of 42 and will be climbing after his quarterfinal showing in Miami.
He has already made two finals of ATP 250 this year (Antalya & Singapore) However, his off-court commentary is worth the price of admission.
His interviews are straightforward, funny, awkward, truthful and above all, amusing. Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj noted a few times in their interviews that he should look to get on the mic more often due to his candid and genial nature. He comes across as a normal person, which is a stark contrast to the straight-from-the-script-answers you get from most pro athletes, who are too worried about what a wrong answer might do to their Q-rating.
When you see someone being genuine you can tell right away. A perfect parallel on the other end of the spectrum is Naomi Osaka, who is genuinely herself, but in the opposite manner; shy, reserved and introspective. Tennis is one of the few sports where the athletes don’t have to worry about the wrong comment upsetting a teammate or coach – there are no teammates and they hire/fire coaches. Still, it’s rare that we get to see players with such candor, and here’s hoping that Bublik will continue his rise up the rankings so we can see more of his tennis and hear more of his entertaining thoughts.
Serve & Volley
Ash Barty proved – she’s a legit number one and the top contender for another Roland Garros title, which she didn’t play last year
Tennis will be fine without Federer, Serena, Nadal & Novak once they retire. Miami had a ton of interesting matches and storylines, none of which revolved around the biggest stars in the sport
The Tennis Channel did a fantastic job covering the tournament throughout the week, and Prakash Amritraj was excellent interviewing players
by Andrew Palm, bringing The Slice from Toronto, Canada
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