Although the first half of the Sunshine Double, the Indian Wells Masters, has been postponed, with a potential date for the tournament not yet forthcoming, there should still be plenty of entertaining action at the WTA Miami Open. Day two will see a number of star names take to the court in Florida and every player will surely be desperate to book their place in the second round. But who will advance and who will fall to defeat?
We also have predictions for the rest of the Day 2 matches, across four other articles. One features Kristina Mladenovic vs Danielle Collins, the second headlines Fiona Ferro vs Saisai Zheng, the third features Heather Watson vs Nina Stojanovic, and the fourth highlights Katerina Siniakova vs Ana Konjuh.
WTA Miami Open Day Two Predictions
Andrea Petkovic vs Zhang Shuai
Head-to-head: Petkovic 3-1 Zhang
Andrea Petkovic arrives at the WTA Miami Open a player in need of wins. The German has picked up just one so far this year, which came in her first tournament of the season. Since then, she has lost in the first round at the Australian Open and the WTA Phillips Island Trophy, to Ons Jabeur and Anna Blinkova respectively. Fortunately for the German, Zhang Shuai has been in similarly indifferent form, with the Chinese winning just two games in her only outing in singles so far this season.
Petkovic has also enjoyed the better of this rivalry, winning three of their four previous matches, although it was Zhang who came out on top when they last met in Guangzhou in 2019. Zhang has also been the more consistent performer over the last two years and enjoyed a strong end to 2020, reaching the quarterfinals in Strasbourg and the fourth round at the French Open. With Petkovic not the force she once was, expect Zhang to get back to winning ways here.
Prediction: Zhang in 3
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Kristyna Pliskova vs Katie Boulter
Head-to-head: first meeting
Kristyna Pliskova is another player who has made a less than impressive start to 2021. The Czech did manage to come through the qualifying at the WTA Qatar Open, beating Darija Jurak, Zhu Lin and Cristina Bucsa, all in straight sets, but she has not yet mustered a main-draw win. However, her first-round opponent in Miami, Katie Boulter, has also been struggling of late.
After a promising start to the season that saw her reach the quarterfinals at the WTA Gippsland Trophy, where she took a set off Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka, she has been beaten comprehensively in her last three matches. She may be more competitive here, but Pliskova should have enough pedigree to account for the Briton.
Prediction: Pliskova in 3
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Mihaela Buzarnescu vs Caroline Garcia
Head-to-head: Garcia 1-0 Buzarnescu
This is certainly a match that Caroline Garcia should be winning. Particularly because she beat Mihaela Buzarnescu so convincingly in their only previous meeting, which came in Fed Cup action back in 2019. But that does not mean that this is a match that the Frenchwoman will win. Whilst there is no mistaking her talent, Andy Murray’s one-time prediction that Garcia would reach the top of the WTA rankings looks rather optimistic, with the 27-year-old having never managed to perform consistently over the course of a season.
Buzarnescu, meanwhile, has been struggling for wins at WTA -level of late. That said, she has played well in qualifying more than once, successfully reaching the main draw at the Australian Open and now in Miami. Still, it is hard to escape the feeling that this match will not be decided by what she does. Garcia, who has impressed intermittently this season and reached the third round last time out in Dubai, is the more complete of the two players. If she is at her best, or close to it, she should prove too strong for Buzarnescu.
Prediction: Garcia in 2
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Sloane Stephens vs Oceane Dodin
Head-to-head: first meeting
It is hard to work out what exactly has gone so disastrously wrong for Sloane Stephens since 2018. The American has, of course, had to battle with more than her fair share of injuries, but she does not seem to have been entirely robbed of her athleticism nor her ability to generate power from the baseline. But she has lost all four singles matches she has played so far in 2021, winning just one set in the process. And two of those defeats came in the first round of qualifying.
Things have not been a great deal better for Oceane Dodin. She lost in the first round of qualifying for the Australian Open, despite being the second seed, and dropping down to ITF-level yielded just two wins across three tournaments in France and Germany. But, perhaps crucially, she did score two wins to come through the qualifying at the WTA Miami Open, beating Mirjam Bjorklund and fifth seed Tamara Zidansek. In a match between two players unquestionably short of confidence, that could prove decisive.
Prediction: Dodin in 3
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