Coco Gauff was looking like the best player on the planet for the first half of January, but it all suddenly came to a stop. The American sort of got back on track in Indian Wells last week, still not posting the kind of result that she’s aspiring towards. In her opening round at the WTA 1000 in Miami, she’s taking on Sofia Kenin in a blockbuster all-American clash of two Grand Slam champions. Who do you think will prevail?
WTA Miami Day 3 Predictions
Linda Fruhvirtova vs Beatriz Haddad Maia
Head-to-head: Haddad Maia 1-0
It’s one thing that Linda Fruhvirtova’s progress completely stagnated at some point, the Czech is now outside the Top 200 in the WTA Rankings despite claiming a main tour title almost three years ago already. From this perspective, it’s already a big run for her and she’s got a winnable draw too. Beatriz Haddad Maia has been struggling big-time this year with a 2-8 record and just three games won against Sonay Kartal in Indian Wells. As something’s clicked for Fruhvirtova, why not keep the run going?
Prediction: Fruhvirtova in 3
Daria Kasatkina vs Hailey Baptiste
Head-to-head: Kasatkina 1-0
It feels like no one is talking about Daria Kasatkina this year, but that doesn’t mean the Russian has stopped producing solid results. Miami is not a successful event for her historically with just a couple of third-round appearances. She has a good shot at matching that here, needing just this one win against Hailey Baptiste. It seems like a matchup where she should be feeling relatively confident, especially after defeating the American in Seoul last year. Baptiste doesn’t have that kind of overwhelming power to hit her off the court.
Prediction: Kasatkina in 2
Lucia Bronzetti vs Maria Sakkari
Head-to-head: First meeting
Maria Sakkari’s ranking took a bit of a hit after she failed to defend her Indian Wells runner-up finish and she was also in the Miami quarterfinals last year. But at least she’s back in good shape physically and some results should eventually follow. Lucia Bronzetti had this one famous lucky loser run at this venue, but it’s still a match where the pressure is on Sakkari. Losing this would be a big setback in her campaign to return to the top, Bronzetti doesn’t have much to hurt her with.
Prediction: Sakkari in 2
Coco Gauff vs Sofia Kenin
Head-to-head: 2-2
Sofia Kenin is surprisingly one of the most in-form players this season after spending the last few years peaking only on extremely rare occasions. Now the form is actually consistent and she’s going pretty deep in most events. She should be dangerous to Coco Gauff here, especially as the World No. 3 just hasn’t been the same since the Australian Open quarterfinals. Let’s say she just battles through, but she’s vulnerable at the moment and Kenin looks deadly.
Prediction: Gauff in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
