ATP and WTA third round singles action takes place on Sunday in Miami.
The United States and Canada will do battle in two of the day’s most appetizing encounters. American No.1 Taylor Fritz faces Canadian No.2 Denis Shapovalov, in what has been one of the ATP’s most prolific rivalries of the last few years. And in a battle of Major singles champions, Canadian No.1 Bianca Andreescu faces a resurgent American in Sofia Kenin.
Other third round matches on Sunday include top names such as defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, last year’s runner-up Casper Ruud, and Australian Open champ Aryna Sabalenka.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Sunday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Bianca Andreescu vs. Sofia Kenin – 12:00pm on Stadium Court
Is Bianca Andreescu back? After some modest results in 2022, and a 6-6 start to this year, the 2019 US Open champion has earned consecutive quality wins this week. Bianca defeated both Emma Raducanu and Maria Sakkari in three sets to reach this third round matchup.
Is Sofia Kenin back? After a dismal two seasons, during which she battled injuries and confidence issues, the 2020 Australian Open champion seems to be regaining her form. Kenin is yet to drop a set this week, and played a very tight match two weeks ago at Indian Wells with eventual champion Elena Rybakina.
Andreescu is 2-1 at tour level against Kenin, with all three matches occurring on hard courts in 2019, when Bianca was at the peak of her powers. One of those matches took place at this tournament, which the Canadian claimed in straight sets. Four years later, I give Andreescu the slight edge based on the quality of her victories this week. When Bianca starts believing in her fighting abilities, she becomes one of the sport’s toughest outs.
Taylor Fritz (9) vs. Denis Shapovalov (24) – Second on Stadium Court
Fritz is now a strong 18-5 in 2023, despite suffering a second round upset at the Australian Open. While this event takes place in his home country, Taylor was just 6-6 in Miami prior to this fortnight. He easily overcame American wild card Emilio Nava in his opening round.
Shapovalov has been enduring one of the roughest patches of his career. He’s just 6-6 this season, and arrived in Miami having lost five of his last six matches. Denis survived his opening round against Guido Pella in three sets.
Shapovalov leads their head-to-head 5-3, and they’ve never played on any other surface but a hard court. Three years ago in the third round of the US Open, Denis defeated Taylor in five sets, back when Fritz had yet to advance beyond that round of a Major. Most recently, just a few weeks ago in Acapulco, Fritz beat Shapovalov in straights. And based on recent form, I expect a similar result on Sunday.
Other Notable Matches on Sunday:
Diego Schwartzman (31) vs. Hulger Rune (7) – Schwartzman arrived in Miami having only won two of his last 17 matches, but defeated Dallas champion Yibing Wu in the last round. Rune is 13-6 this season, and beat Marton Fucsovics in the last round.
Petra Kvitova (15) vs. Donna Vekic (22) – Kvitova dropped just three games in her opening round, while Vekic survived a three-setter. Petra is 3-1 against Donna, which includes two previous victories at this event.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Dusan Lajovic – After missing the Aussie swing due to injury, Alcaraz is now 15-1 in 2023. Lajovic has already upset Andy Murray and Maxime Cressy this week. Carlitos is 3-0 against Dusan, with two of those wins coming just last month on clay in South America, both of which were straight-setters.
Barbora Krejcikova (16) vs. Madison Keys (19) – Krejcikova is 14-5 this season, while Keys is 11-4. Keys took their only previous meeting, in last year’s Australian Open quarterfinals.
Marie Bouzkova (31) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Sabalenka is 18-2 on the year, but is only 5-4 lifetime in Miami. Bouzkova is a modest 4-7 this season, and as per Tennis Abstract, hasn’t beaten a top 10 player since her quarterfinal run at last summer’s Wimbledon, when she upset Danielle Collins.
Casper Ruud (3) vs. Botic van de Zandschulp (26) – Ruud is just 5-5 this year, and van de Zandschulp is only 8-6. Botic leads their head-to-head 2-1, and claimed their only prior hard court encounter, two years ago at the US Open.
Sunday’s full Order of Play is here.