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.
