Medvedev, Osaka Headline Tennis Sunday in Miami

By Daniel Perissé

It’s time for Daniil Medvedev and Naomi Osaka to get back on court at the Miami Open presented by Itaú this Sunday, March 28th. While the Russian takes on Alexei Popyrin, the Japanese meets qualifier Nina Stojakovic for a place in the fourth round.

Medvedev debuted with a convincing 6-2, 6-2 win against Yen-Hsun Lu, from Chinese Taipei and will have 21-year-old Popyrin as his next opponent. The Russian won the previous two matches against the Australian, with whom he had a few “good” practices this season.

“He’s a great player. You know, I think, still young, still coming up. Great strokes, great serve. Solid baseline player, but he can go to the net, hit winners from all corners of the court. Really great player. It’s going to be a tough match. Looking forward to it. I feel good here in Miami”, said Medvedev, who plays in the third match on Grandstand.

Before Medvedev’s match, Osaka will play against qualifier Nina Stojakovic. In the second round, she beat Australia’s Alja Tomljanovic 7-6(3), 6-4 and was able to “adjust quickly and learn” throughout the match.

“I think the conditions here are very different from Australia and from LA where I was practicing before I came here”, the World No. 2 added.

Opening the order of play on Grandstand, John Isner plays Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime for the second time in his career. The previous match between them also happened at the Miami Open, in 2019, and the Greensboro, NC, native won 7-6(3), 7-6(4).

The winner between Isner and Auger-Aliassime takes on German Jan-Lennard Struff or Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, No. 7 seed, who play in the first match on Court 1.

In the second match on Court 1, Italian sensation Jannik Sinner squares off with No. 14 seed Karen Khachanov, from Russia, followed by the clash between Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori and Swede Mikael Ymer. Ruusuvuori took out German’s Alexander Zverev, the No. 3 seed, in the second round.

Later in the day in that same court, Taylor Fritz plays against British Cameron Norrie, and Alexander Bublik, the No. 31 seed, faces Australian James Duckworth, who beat No. 8 seed David Goffin in the second round.

Court Butch Buchholz will feature matches from the Women’s Singles and Doubles draws this Sunday. Czech Karolina Pliskova, No. 6 seed, opens the slate against Buffalo’s Jessica Pegula, seeded at No. 29, followed by the clash between Belgium’s Elise Mertens, No. 16 seed, and Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit, No. 22 seed.

In the third match of the day on Court Butch Buchholz, Spaniard Garbine Muguruza squares off with Russian qualifier Anna Kalinskaya.

Also on Butch Buchholz, Pembroke Pines’ Sofia Kenin plays her third round match against Ons Jabeur, from Tunisia (No. 27 seed), and Delray Beach’s Coco Gauff teams up with Cincinnati native Cathy McNally to square off against the Czech doubles team of Barbora Krejikova and Katerina Siniakova, seeded No. 2 in the Women’s Doubles draw.

Matches on Grandstand, Court 1 and Court Butch Buchholz start at 11 a.m., while the night session on Grandstand begins at 7 p.m.