by Vanni Gibertini

We meet Simone Vagnozzi on the lawn of the Hard Rock Stadium at 2.30 pm, just after Jannik Sinner has finished his training session with Marton Fucsovics on Court 12. Sinner will be taking on Laslo Djere in his first match in Miami so it’s a chance to speak about his excellent first part of season, the semifinal in Indian Wells lost against Alcaraz, and his expectations for the next weeks. 

How does Sinner’s team evaluate the performance and result obtained in Indian Wells?

 We are definitely happy. He has been very consistent in the last period, at Australian Open, Rotterdam and Montpellier. In Indian Wells he reached the semi-finals and played a very close match with Alcaraz, who then went on to win the tournament. This means that we are on a good path and that we must continue working hard without easing pressure because our ultimate goal is not to get to the semifinals but to try and win one of these tournaments.

Speaking about the match with Alcaraz, in a match that seems to be becoming a tennis classic, what could have been done differently?

Surely the first set could have gone either way, and if Jannik had won that first set maybe the match could have taken a different direction. Looking back, we could have done something more, although we cannot reveal our moves for the future. The service was an important feature of the match, but not the only key. I don’t think Jannik lost the first set just due to the serve, because if we analyze the details, at the end Jannik won more points than Alcaraz, so you can’t win more points if you are serving badly.

Jannik had a few chances, but as in the past with Alcaraz the match took a turn in a few points. And we must also take into account that Carlos comes from more important experiences, he has won a Slam, three Masters 1000, so even if he is younger he is probably more ready to play this kind of matches. Alcaraz is ahead at the moment, but if we get to play against him, we stand a chance.

Sinner often remains far behind the baseline to return serve: do you think this position may have impacted the result of the match with Alcaraz, since also in the final against Medvedev, who stands even further back than Jannik, he took full advantage of this position?

I don’t think Sinner stands so far back. For example, on the second serve he always moves forward, at least in 95% of cases. He has worked on this aspect. On the first serve it depends on the player he’s facing, but I don’t think his position is so far back, it’s a bit more like Djokovic’s position.

We were talking about a path with Jannik, and also when we talked to him in Indian Wells it was clear he is aware that it will take at least another couple of years before reaching his full physical maturity. What benchmark do you use to understand where you stand and what is your point of arrival?

Since last year we have embarked on a new path with Jannik, adding new elements, technical, tactical and physical, and this path needs time to be completed. If we make a comparison with Alcaraz, he is two years younger, but he has been doing the same things since he was 15, so at the moment he is more complete. Jannik needs a little more time, although no one knows exactly when his development will be completed. I am sure, however, that in 2-3 years Jannik will be physically stronger than he is now. We must not overdo it, we must not risk, we must do everything at the right time, and I am convinced that this path will yield important results.

The same considerations can be made about Jannik’s serve: the stats tell us that it’s improving, the direct points with the service, aces and winning serves, are rising. Obviously there will be days when he will just serve 50%, but the important thing is that during the year, considering 60-70 matches, the numbers show he’s growing.

When you say that “Alcaraz has always played the same way since he was 15, what do you mean exactly?

If you watch a match of Alcaraz when he was 15 years old you see that he could do more or less all the things he does even now: he plays dropshots, he comes to the net, he does serve and volley; it’s a path he is been completing over time.

So he got there sooner? Or was he just born like this?

Well, we’re talking about a phenomenon. At 19 years old, nobody played like that, not even the all-time greats, such as Djokovic, Rafa or Federer. No one was as complete as he is when they were 19 years old.

So now that his game is already so complete will it be difficult to improve?

He is surely going to improve, and be at the top for many, many years. But we have to focus on Jannik, trying to make him the best player possible. And that’s what we’re trying to do.

Both Carlos and Jannik said that playing against each other will make them better players. Each match seems like the next move in a chess game. Is it a feeling you share as well?

I think so, but we do the same with all the players. Every time you play a match you try to introduce elements that can unsettle your opponent, and your opponent does the same. Then of course Carlos, Jannik, and even Musetti are the most prominent young players so these things are more noticeable.

WTA third round action begins on Saturday in Miami, the first day where seeds begin to meet in the draws.

American No.1 Jessica Pegula faces fellow American and 2022 Australian Open finalist, Danielle Collins, while a pair of recent Indian Wells champs will collide, in Elena Rybakina and Paula Badosa.  Other WTA matches on Saturday feature three-time Miami Open champion Victoria Azarenka and Florida resident Coco Gauff.

ATP second round competition concludes on Saturday, with names like Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Matteo Berrettini making their 2023 Miami Open debuts.

Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule.  Saturday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.

Jessica Pegula (3) vs. Danielle Collins (30) – Third on Stadium Court

Pegula is 16-5 this season, and easily dispatched of qualifier Katherine Sebov on Thursday.  She is 7-3 lifetime in Miami, and was a semifinalist a year ago, losing to eventual champion Iga Swiatek.

Collins is 9-8 this season, and has not been able to rediscover her top form while battling multiple injuries over the course of the past year.  But she’s been very successful in Miami, with an overall record of 11-4 thanks to a semifinal run in 2018, and a quarterfinal run in 2022.

Pegula claimed their only tour-level meeting, which was an extremely tight affair.  Two years ago in Montreal, Jess prevailed 7-5 in the third on her sixth match point, which ended Danielle’s 12-match win streak at the time.  Pegula is again a favorite to prevail on Saturday, as she’s become one of the WTA’s most consistent performers, and rarely fails to make the second week of big events.  However, Collins always has the power to dictate matters if her aggressive game is clicking.

Elena Rybakina (10) vs. Paula Badosa (21) – Not Before 8:30pm on Stadium Court

Rybakina is 17-4 in 2023, and is coming off a three-set victory on Thursday night over Anna Kalinskaya.  She sits at a career-high of No.7 in the world, though it’s worth noting she’d be in the top five if she had received ranking points for her Wimbledon triumph.  Elena has lost in the third round of Miami in both of her previous appearances.

Badosa is just 6-3 on the year, having pulled out of the Australian Open due to injury.  She defeated Laura Siegemund in three sets in the last round.  Paula’s 7-5 lifetime in Miami, and was a quarterfinalist here a year ago.

Badosa leads their head-to-head 3-2 at tour level, though in this same round of Indian Wells two weeks ago, Rybakina beat Badosa in straight sets.  Elena may be due for a drop in form, coming off the second biggest title run of her career.  But based on her recent level of play, Rybakina must still be considered the favorite on Saturday.

Other Notable Matches on Saturday:

Richard Gasquet vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (2) – Tsitsipas is 11-3 this year, but lost his opening round match at Indian Wells to Jordan Thompson in a final-set tiebreak.  Gasquet is 9-7, and began the year by winning a title in Auckland.  These two one-handed backhanders have split two previous meetings, which both occurred in 2018.

Magda Linette (20) vs. Victoria Azarenka (14) – This is a battle between 2023 Australian Open semifinalists.  Azarenka is 2-0 against Linette, which includes a comfortable victory seven years ago at this event.

Anastasia Potapova (27) vs. Coco Gauff (6) – Gauff is now 15-4 on the year, while Potapova is 13-7, having won a hard court title last month in Linz.  Coco leads their head-to-head 2-0.

Mackenzie McDonald vs. Matteo Berrettini (19) – McDonald is now 8-0 in first round matches this season, but just 5-7 in rounds thereafter.  Berrettini has suffered some tough losses in 2023, and is a modest 7-6 at all levels, having played a Challenger event in Phoenix last week following his early exit at Indian Wells.  Matteo is 2-0 against Mackie, with both matches taking place on hard courts.

Hubert Hurkacz (8) vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis (LL) – Hurkacz won this tournament two years ago, and advanced to the semifinals in 2022.  Kokkinakis is a lucky loser who saved three match points in his opening round against Zizou Bergs, prevailing in a final-set tiebreak.  Five years ago in qualifying for Atlanta, Thanasi beat Hubi in straight sets.

Roberto Carballes Baena vs. Daniil Medvedev (4) – This is Medvedev’s first match since his 19-match winning streak was ended by Carlos Alcaraz in the final of Indian Wells.  He beat Carballes Baena in straight sets two years ago at the Australian Open.

Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.

Casper Ruud is looking to kickstart his season in Miami after winning his opening round against Ilya Ivashka 6-2 6-3.

The Norwegian has yet to win back-to-back matches this season as he has struggled for form after an outstanding 2022 season.

Ruud will be hoping to break that pattern in Miami this week and made a good start with a convincing victory over Ivashka.

The world number four encountered similar problems last year but produced an impressive tournament in Miami to reach his first Masters 1000 final.

That would kickstart Ruud’s season which saw him reach two Grand Slam finals and the final at the ATP Finals.

Now Ruud is hoping to do the same as he searches for Miami momentum this week, “I want to believe one match will turn it around but there are still a lot of matches to be played with a lot of good players left in the tournament,” Ruud told the ATP website.

“It’s been almost two weeks since I’ve played a match after taking an early loss in Indian Wells. I worked hard and came into Miami with great memories from last year.

“Last year I won’t say I turned around my year here because I won Buenos Aires, but then I had an injury that kept me out for two to three weeks and then I lost early in Indian Wells.

“When people asked about my expectations I said I just wanted to have a good finish to the hard-court season and I made the final. So I’m just going to try to win some matches again, not think about what [points] I have to defend and just try to get some momentum.”

Ruud, who is now 5-5 for the season, will look to win back-to-back matches for the first time this season when he takes on 26th seed Botic Van De Zandschulp on Sunday.

Zverev Stunned, Rune and Dimitrov Advance

However one top seed wasn’t so lucky to advance in Miami as Alexander Zverev suffered a crushing 6-0 6-4 defeat to Taro Daniel.

Daniel earned his second top 20 win of the season over an underwhelming Zverev, who will now head to the clay court season.

There was also wins for Holger Rune and Grigor Dimitrov respectively although the latter had to come from a set down to beat Jan-Lennard Struff in three sets.

Holger Rune will now play 31st seed Diego Schwartzman while Grigor Dimitrov sets up a mouth-watering clash with 10th seed Jannik Sinner.