2023 Miami Open Recap
Known as the second half of the “Sunshine Double, the Miami Open is the final hard-court stop before the tours inevitably switch to clay. Taking place within Hard Rock Stadium, the unique setup brings about an even more unique week of tennis, as the venue that typically hosts football games, is transformed into what many described as a miniaturized Grand Slam. And though not as long of an event, as its sibling tournament Indian Wells, the significance of winning here is no less than its predecessor. So today we will dive into all the actions that occurred over the week, including the tournaments overall impact on tour, and Petra Kvitova’s and Daniil Medvedev’s outstanding run to the title.
Consistency is Key
A common complaint within the tennis world is the lack of consistent performances amongst players. Beyond the “Big Three”, the idea of having essentially new and at times even un-heard of competitors making deep runs within Grand Slams and 1000-point events has become common place. And though not an inherently bad occurrence as it further spreads the spotlight amongst players on both the ATP and WTA tours. It does, however, hurt the sport in terms of popularity amongst casual tennis fans
Many times, what draws people into a sports is not the game itself, but the induvial players characters, and personalities. When you have such consistent star power in the “Big Three” or for the WTA, Serena Williams, you are always able to draw in a steady group of fans who enjoy seeing their favorite players compete and win on tour. Without them however, unless a person is truly a die-hard tennis fan, its very easy to lose interest in a sport where you favorites never win and the ones who do, careers seemingly fizzle out just as quickly as they started.
Yet it looks like tennis is finally turning a page, because if there is one word that can be used to describe not only the Miami Open but the entirety of this year’s Sunshine Double, it is, consistency. With an almost parallel semifinal result between the two tournament for ATP players, and numerous WTA standouts making deep quarterfinals runs in both events, these results show that tennis has numerous stars who are ready to take the mantle and attract new and old fans back to the sport.
Winner Winner
Though the tennis world came close to having not one but two potential Sunshine Doubles champions, unfortunately for Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina, though they came close, they were not able to seal the deal here in Miami. Instead, the tournament saw two first time champions being crowned as Petra Kvitova and Daniil Medvedev were victorious over the weekend.
For Kvitova this win is yet another accolade to add to her already illustrious career. The two-time grand slam champ is surely not unfamiliar with success at the highest level, although recent years have seen her result go through numerous highs and lows. Fortunately for Kvitova, her week in Miami would check off by many as a high, as she did not drop a set on her way to finals. Facing of against Elena Rybakina, this was a match filled with big serves and even bigger groundstrokes. With a tight first set that Kvitova would win, in what felt like a never-ending tie breaker, 16-14, she would have a fast turn around in the second, taking it 6-2. A monumental moment for the Czech star as it would be her first title of the 2023 season and 30th overall.
Now Daniil Medvedev would also find similar levels of success during his time in Miami. After a fairly uneventful final at Indian Wells, that essentially saw Medvedev get steam rolled by Alcaraz in straight sets. The current world No. 4 was able to quickly shake off defeat and put together an outstanding week of tennis. Surprisingly his most difficult match would not come in the finals, but in the semis, as he would face fellow countryman Karen Khachanov. Locked into a three-set battle, it would be Khachanov off the cuff shot making abilities versus Medvedev impenetrable groundstroke game. Ultimately Medvedev would take the win 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-3 over his long-time friend, booking his trip to yet another Master 1000s final.
Taking on Jannik Sinner, Medvedev would completely overwhelm his opponent. Playing a tight first set, that saw Medvedev squeak by with a 7-5 win. The second set would be all Daniil, as it looked like Jannik was simply out energy and honestly, out of options when it came to breaking down Medvedev games. Thus Daniil would take the second set 6-3 to capture his 19th career title.
