DAY 4 PREVIEW: SEEDED WOMEN IN ACTION, FERRER’S FAREWELL BEGINS
By Tucker Verdi
Miami Gardens, FL — Under the lights of Stadium Court, Day 4 of the 2019 Miami Open presented by Itaú will come to a close with a match featuring a former American No. 1 who has won five titles, and been on tour for over a decade. But despite being an American at an American event, this player — Sam Querrey, will not be the fan favorite during the match.
Across from him will be a 5’9” Spaniard who, at 36-years-old, will be hanging up his racket at the end of this year. He will say goodbye to the sport that has given him a purpose, but not without making a few stops on the way. Already having ended his Grand Slam career, David Ferrer is playing a handful of tournaments that have meant the most to him during his time as a professional.
Miami’s famed raucous crowd of Latin tennis fans will have one of a few chances to see Ferrer in action as he winds the road toward retirement. His match isn’t scheduled to begin before 9:00PM Thursday night.
Starting the day off on stadium court will be three-time Miami Open winner and former World No. 1 Venus Williams. At noon, she will step onto court to play Dalila Jakupovic, a qualifier. That match will be immediately followed by another battle of unseeded players, this time on the men’s side. Wild card Chris Eubanks will take on Damir Dzumhur in their first match against each other.
A pair of top-ranked women will both close out the day session and open up the night session. No. 3 seed and two-time Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova is scheduled to play Maria Sakkari at 4:00PM at the earliest. Then, No. 17 seed Madison Keys will battle 2011 US Open winner Sam Stosur in a match not scheduled to begin before 7:30PM.
Other notable matches set to be played on Day 4 include a bout between No. 19 seed Caroline Garcia and two-time Miami Open singles champion Victoria Azarenka, who advanced earlier today in the first-ever match played on Stadium Court. Their match-up will take place on Grandstand around 5:00PM.
The second match on Court 6 looks to be an intriguing one, with 16-year-old American Whitney Osuigwe going against 22-year-old Mari Osaka, the older sister of World No. 1 Naomi Osaka. Both were granted wild cards into the main draw.
Both men’s and women’s doubles begins play on Day 4, as well. Several top-ranked singles players are set to participate in the doubles competitions this year, with Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Karen Khachanov playing on the men’s side and Elise Mertens, Aryna Sabalenka, and Belinda Bencic on the women’s side. The Zverev brothers — Mischa and Sascha, will also be playing, taking on Maximo Gonzalez and Horacio Zeballos as the third match on Court 3.
See the full order of play here, and get your tickets to catch the action here!
