Djokovic Leads Men’s Field in Miami
World number one and top-seeded Novak Djokovic could face some stiff competition in the early stages of the 2013 Sony Open Tennis in Miami. Djokovic opens his bid for the title against either Gilles Muller or Lukas Rosol and is seeded to face 30th-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in the third round. He is in the same section of the draw as 16th-seeded Tommy Haas, who has a 10-5 record in 2013, and 19th-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of the Ukraine.
Serena Williams leads the women’s singles field in Miami and is playing for the first time since her return to the top of the WTA Women’s Singles Rankings on Feb. 18, after reaching the final of another Premier event in Doha, Serena became the oldest number one in the history of the WTA. Serena will begin her campaign against either Flavia Pennetta or Johanna Larsson in the second round. Serena has won the championship in Miami five times before in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008.
Third-seeded David Ferrer joins Djokovic in the top half and is projected to face the top-seeded Djokovic in the semis. Fererer could face No. 32 seed Fabio Fognini in the third round and is seeded to meet Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the fourth round. Sixth-seeded and Indian Wells runner-up Juan Martin del Potro could be a potential quarterfinal opponent for Ferrer. del Potro begins his Miami campaign against either Tobias Kamke or Blaz Kavcic.
Victoria Azarenka is seeded number two and was a Sony Open winner in both 2009 and 2011, and although she had to withdraw from her quarterfinal match at Indian Wells last week with an ankle injury, she is still an unbeaten 17-0 on the year. She will open against Madison Keys or a qualifier, and the other top eight seed in her quarter is world number six Angelique Kerber.
Maria Sharapova is coming off her first WTA title of the year at Indian Wells, and is a three-time finalist in Miami. Sharapova begins her campaign in Miami against either Eugenie Bouchard or a qualifier.
Andy Murray could face Bernard Tomic in his first match, should Tomic defeat a qualifier in the first round. Murray could face Grigor Dimitrov as a possible third-round opponent and Jerzy Janowicz as a potential rival in the fourth round. Murray is seeded to meet world number eight Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals. Tsonga, a three-time quarterfinalist in Miami, will open against either Pablo Andujar of Spain or Serbia’s Viktor Troicki. Fourth-seeded Tomas Berdych could meet Murray in the semifinals. Berdych reached the Miami finals in 2010, losing to Andy Roddick, and will face either Daniel Gimeno-Traver or Denis Istomin in his opening second-round match and could face Fernando Verdasco in the third round.
â–ºClick here to view the Men’s Singles Draw for the 2013 Sony Open.
â–ºClick here to view the Women’s Singles Draw for the 2013 Sony Open.
