World No.1 Ash Barty takes on world No.5 Elina Svitolina for a spot in Saturday’s women’s championship match. The other WTA semifinal will also take place on Thursday, with 2019 US Open champ Bianca Andreescu battling Maria Sakkari, who yesterday upset Naomi Osaka. And there will also be two men’s quarterfinals contested, featuring four of the ATP’s most promising young stars.
Throughout this event, the women’s singles draw will be a day ahead of the men’s. On Thursday, the women will play their semifinals, while the men’s bottom half completes quarterfinal play.
Each day this preview will analyze the two most prominent matches, and note the other intriguing matchups on the day’s schedule. Thursday’s play will begin at 1:00pm local time.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (2) vs. Hubert Hurkacz (26) – 1:00pm on Grandstand
Tsitsipas is vying for his sixth career Masters 1,000 semifinal, while this would mark the first for Hurkacz. Hubi’s only previous Masters quarterfinal appearance also came in the United States, two years ago in Indian Wells. Stefanos not only has the experience edge over Hubert, but also a considerable edge in their rivalry. Tsitsipas leads their head-to-head 5-1, though Hurkacz’s only victory is also their only previous meeting in North America (the 2019 Rogers Cup). And it’s worth noting their last five matches have all gone the distance. While Hurkacz officially represents Poland, he spends plenty of time training in Florida, so he’s fully comfortable in the hot and humid Miami conditions. Tsitsipas should be the fresher of the two: Hurkacz has spent over two hours longer on court to reach this stage. That includes Hubi’s victory over Milos Raonic in the last round, which was decided by a third set tiebreak. With all that in mind, I would consider Tsitsipas the slight favorite in what should be a tight affair.
Ash Barty (1) vs. Elina Svitolina (5) – Not before 3:00pm on Grandstand
Ash Barty has been impressive this fortnight, in her first tournament outside of Australia in over a year. She’s fought her way to a trio of three-set victories despite her level at times failing her. She defeated two in-form Belarusians in the last two rounds: Victoria Azarenka and Aryna Sabalenka. And with Naomi Osaka’s loss yesterday, Ash is guaranteed to retain the No.1 ranking, which should alleviate some pressure. However, this has been a problematic matchup for the defending champion in the past. Barty is 1-5 lifetime against Svitolina, with her only win coming in their most recent meeting, the championship match of the 2019 WTA Finals. Their two encounters before that were on American hard courts, with Svitolina claiming four of five sets played. But Svitolina arrived in Miami having lost three of her last four matches, and only one of her 18 career final appearances have come in the United States. And Barty has a lot more tools at her disposal should any parts of her game go awry. So I like Barty’s chances to reach her second consecutive championship match in Miami.
Other Notable Matches on Thursday:
Bianca Andreescu (8) vs. Maria Sakkari (23) – This is the other women’s semifinal. Andreescu is coming off three consecutive three-setters, including an exceptionally grueling one just last night against Sara Sorribes Tormo. Sakkari required only a little over an hour to dispatch of Naomi Osaka earlier in the day yesterday.
Andrey Rublev (4) vs. Sebastian Korda – This will be the last men’s quarterfinal. Since the start of 2020, 23-year-old Rublev is a sensational 60-13. Since the start of 2021, 20-year-old Korda is 15-4 at all levels.
Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic (2) vs. Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury (7) – This men’s doubles semifinal features two of the ATP’s hottest doubles teams. Mektic and Pavic have already accumulated three titles this year. Ram and Salisbury have won 10 of their last 12 matches.
Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.
