The round of 64 at the WTA Miami Open in sunny Miami continues with Americans Jessica Pegula and Sloane Stephens among the players in action on hard courts. Here is your look at all the action.
Jessica Pegula vs Lin Zhu
Pegula has won both h2h meetings and Zhu has been “average” at 9-8 on the season, the world #5 Pegula hasn’t been lighting the world on fire with her form either, but she did reach the semis in San Diego and at some point she’s going to capture the form that saw her become a top 5 player. Playing on American soil, Pegula should crack the code and win this. Pegula in 2
Jasmine Paolini vs Katie Volynets
The qualifier Volynets has won three matches in a row that went the distance and upset Ons Jabeur the tournament prior to reach R3 in Indian Wells. She’s putting together an excellent season thus far but now runs into Paolini at a career high ranking. The Dubai champion is 11-6 on the season and fell in the round of 16 at Indian Wells. This match is certainly intriguing and looks to be high quality, Paolini is the safer choice to win it as Volynets may also be fatigued. Paolini in 3
Sloane Stephens vs Sorana Cirstea
A semifinalist in Dubai and 7-7 on the year, Cirstea is slowly returning to a career high ranking last reached over a decade ago (currently #24, career high of #21), the issue for Cirstea is that she just lost to Stephens in Indian Wells and now faces an immediate rematch. This is their third meeting just this year and they split the first two. At 8-7 on the year, Stephens has lacked consistency, Cirstea will be eager for immediate revenge, but I’ll go with home cooking and back Stephens. Stephens in 3
Marta Kostyuk vs Arantxa Rus
The pair have split h2h meetings but haven’t met in a few years, Rus is 7-8 on the season, Kostyuk is 15-6 and at a career high ranking.The San Diego finalist and Indian Wells semifinalist Kostyuk is in intimidating form, Rus doesn’t stand much of a chance on paper to win this match, but thankfully tennis isn’t only played on paper. Kostyuk in 2
Main Photo Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
