It was quite the opening week at the Miami Open. After an exhilarating Indian Wells which saw Juan Martin del Potro and Naomi Osaka capture their first Masters and Premier Mandatory titles respectively, the latter half of the Sunshine Double definitely threw in some more loops.
Three Of Four Indian Wells Finalists Out
The finals of Indian Wells saw Osaka defeat Daria Kasatkina and del Potro take out Roger Federer. Only the Argentine is left remaining after the first three rounds of play took place in Key Biscayne. Osaka took out Serena Williams in her opener but then crashed out to Elina Svitolina. Kasatkina went out in her opening match to Sofia Kenin.
The massive shock though was Federer going out. He was handed a tricky second round affair against Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis. Kokkinakis, a talented 21-year-old, has dealt with injury problems but scalped his way to the biggest win of his career.
This marks the first time since the 2014 clay season that the Swiss has suffered back-to-back losses. The loss also takes him off the world number one ranking for the time being with Nadal set to take over again, but the Spaniard has an abundance of points to defend on clay.
World Numbers One And Two Out
Joining the seed exodus is the world number one and two on the women's side, Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki, both going out. Halep survived going a set down to Oceane Dodin but could not get my the crafty Pole, Agnieszka Radwanska.
Wozniacki on the other hand, did not win a single match. She bageled Monica Puig in her opener before losing the final two sets 4-6, 4-6. The Dane complained about a hostile atmosphere in a statement she posted on her Twitter which included death threats, name-calling, and vulgar language to her financé's niece and nephew
Chances For Those Who Have Struggled
With the draw opening up, this could be a chance for two players who are at the top of the rankings but have struggled so far in 2018, Alexander Zverev and Karolina Pliskova. Pliskova is the first quarterfinalist after defeating Zarina Diyas and hopes to finally make her push towards a final.
On the men's side, Alexander Zverev has struggled so far in 2018. The German faces David Ferrer for a spot in the fourth round and a deep run would really kickstart his season.
