DAY 8 PREVIEW: FED IN ACTION, WOMEN’S QUARTERS SPOTS UP FOR GRABS
By Tucker Verdi
Miami Gardens, FL — The second week of the 2019 Miami Open presented by Itaú gets underway today as top contenders take to the court during the day and night sessions on Day 8.
Roger Federer will play his third round match against the unseeded Filip Krajinovic, which is scheduled for 1:00PM ET at the earliest. The No. 4 seed is chasing his fourth title in Miami, but will face a tough out in Krajinovic. Despite being ranked 103rd in the world, the Serbian has proved dangerous in the past — advancing as a qualifier to the Paris Masters final in 2017. Federer, however, has beaten the 27-year-old Krajinovic both times they have played each other on tour.
All sixteen women remaining in the singles draw will see action on Monday, but only eight will remain when the day comes to a close.
No. 3 seed Petra Kvitova will start things off on Stadium court at noon ET against No. 19 Caroline Garcia. Kvitova and Garcia have split their six previous matches down the middle, with the latter winning most recently in Beijing in 2017. Kvitova is one of three players who can emerge from Miami with the No. 1 world ranking — the other two being current No. 1 Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep, but must reach the final to do so.
No. 2 seed Halep, who must also reach the final to have a shot at reclaiming World No. 1 status, will see unseeded Venus Williams in the fourth round. Halep and Williams have also split their six head-to-head results with Williams taking the first three and Halep winning the last three — most recently in Melbourne in January.
No. 5 seed Karolina Pliskova will play the last match of the night on Stadium Court against unseeded Yulia Putintseva for a spot in the quarterfinals. No. 13 seed Caroline Wozniacki and No. 27 seed Hsieh Su-wei — who defeated World No. 1 Osaka in the third round, will battle it out on Grandstand to advance to the round of 16.
The last match on Grandstand guarantees an unseeded player will advance to the quarters as Tatjana Maria takes on Marketa Vondrousova. And the last match on Court 1 will be an all-Chinese affair as No. 18 seed Wang Qiang plays unseeded Wang Yafan.
In the highest seeded matchup, No. 7 Kiki Bertens will try to fend off No. 12 Ashleigh Barty in the early match on Butch Buchholz Court. The Aussie Barty has won all three of their previous matches.
Bianca Andreescu will try to extend her sensational run, which began with the Indian Wells title last week, against No. 21 seed Anett Kontaveit. Back-to-back quarterfinal appearances at Premier Mandatory events would solidly her status as a force to be reckoned with on the WTA tour.
David Ferrer, in what he says is his last year on tour, will face No. 28 seed Frances Tiafoe, who is 15 years his junior. Ferrer beat American Sam Querrey in the first round before shocking No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev in a three-set second round win.
Two more top 10 seeds on the men’s side are in action on Monday on the men’s side. No 5 Kevin Anderson plays Joao Sousa in the first match on Grandstand and No. 8 Stefanos Tsitsipas is scheduled to take on Leonardo Mayer on Grandstand as well.
The highest seeded matchup of the day features No. 14 Marcos Cecchinato against No. 18 David Goffin. Cecchinato, who should be well-rested after advancing via walkover in the second round, and Goffin have split their two previous matches.
No. 13 seed Daniil Medvedev will look to halt the run of American qualifier Reilly Opelka while No. 20 seed Denis Shapovalov goes against qualifier Andrey Rublev and No. 24 seed Grigor Dimitrov plays Aussie Jordan Thompson.
See the full order of play here, and get your tickets here!
