Miami Open: Eala, Fonseca get top billing as Swiatek, Venus also feature on blockbuster day
The Miami Open is set for a blockbuster day on Thursday with rising stars Alex Eala and Joao Fonseca set to feature on the main court while Iga Swiatek and Venus Williams will also be in action.
The weather has wreaked havoc with the schedule in South Florida the past two days with Wednesday, in particular, being hit hard as all first-round matches were cancelled due to heavy rain.
Tennis great Williams was one of those who were affected as the American was due to take on Francesca Jones, but the encounter had to be pushed back by nearly 24 hours.
It, of course, means Thursday’s schedule will be packed as some of the women’s second-round matches will also get underway.
An updated order of play was released and the action will get underway at 12:00 local time on Stadium Court while play will start at 11:00 on the other courts.
Miami Open Tournament Director James Blake stated earlier in the week that youngsters Eala and Fonseca would get “centre court” treatment at the joint-ATP-WTA 1000 event, and he has delivered on his promise.
“I think we’re going to need them to be on centre court because they have so many fans worldwide, and here it’s going to feel like home matches for both of them,” Blake said during an interview on Tennis Channel.
Eala and Fonseca have drawn big crowds at most of the matches, with the former filling stadiums during the recent Middle East swing, as Filipinos arrived in their droves to support her. Fonseca also has a big Brazilian following, especially in Florida.
Miami Open News
What is the ‘Sunshine Double’ and can Jannik Sinner & Aryna Sabalenka achieve it?
Filippina star Eala, who is seeded 31st, will be first up on Stadium Court as her second-round match against Laura Siegemund is scheduled to get underway at 12:00 and that will be followed by Fonseca’s first-round encounter against Fabian Marozsan.
The winner of the Fonseca-Marozsan match will likely also play on Stadium Court on Friday as world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz will be up next.
Second seed and 2022 Miami Open champion Swiatek will also be in action on the main court as she gets her campaign underway against fellow Pole Magda Linette in the second round, while eighth seed Mirra Andreeva and McCartney Kessler will bring the curtain down on the day’s play.
Former world No 1 Williams’ match against Jones will now take place on Grandstand while Grigor Dimitrov against Raphael Collignon has also been rescheduled for Grandstand.
Other big-name players who will feature on Thursday are former world No 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas, who faces qualifier Arthur Fery, and Matteo Berrettini against Alexandre Muller.
Women’s world No 1 and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka is set to get her campaign underway on Friday and she will face the winner of the Ann Li-Kimberley Birrell contest while third seed and Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina faces either Janice Tjen or Yulia Putintseva.
