Tennis Today: Naomi Osaka’s marriage ‘offer’ and ‘seats made from Ferrari leather’ at Hard Rock Stadium

Shahida Jacobs
March 20, 2019

In Tennis Today, Naomi Osaka has a marriage “offer” that “won’t last long” while some of the suites at the Miami Open’s new Hard Rock Stadium has “seats made from Ferrari leather”.

What’s on the site
Rafael Nadal again succumbed to injury at Indian Wells, and Michael Graham confronts the question that’s been easier to avoid for far too long now.

However, TV pundit Filippo Volandri has backed Nadal’s decision to pull out of his semi-final against Roger Federer.

Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka has hired a top New York lawyer to defend her in a lawsuit by a former coach (no, not Sascha Bajin).

In actual tennis news, Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka could meet again at the Miami Open.

As for play at the Hard Rock Stadium, well it wasn’t a great start.

What’s in the news
A bit late, but this is a good read from Cindy Shmerler in The New York Times on the new Miami Open venue, the Hard Rock Stadium.

Some of the luxury include “premium-seat packages, most of which were sold out two months before the start of the tournament, include private dining rooms. Some suites have seats made out of Ferrari leather”.

There is also a “35-foot mature palm trees costing $35,000 a pop, and a giant fountain that guards one of the many entrances to the stadium” and “a 40-by-90-foot video screen, the largest in tennis, just outside the stadium in a spot modeled after Wimbledon’s Henman Hill, minus the grass”.

The Telegraph’s Simon Briggs has also done something about the new Hard Rock Stadium.

And more, this time from Mike Dickson in the Daily Mail. Nice of them to throw David Beckham into the headline.

In the latest Tennis Podcost, they look at how Dominic Thiem has turned his fortunes around on hard courts and Bianca Andreescu’s brilliant run at Indian Wells.

There is also Kieran Jackson in The Independent, who writes “it was 18-year-old Andreescu who shined brightest in California”.

What’s on social media
A marriage proposal for Naomi Osaka that expires soon. No one is sure how soon.

Lol ok pic.twitter.com/D3gwIwwbrN

— NaomiOsaka????? (@Naomi_Osaka_) March 19, 2019

Best Miami rallies. If the first one doesn’t whet your appetite, then nothing will. You have to continue watching as No 2 is also special. And No 3 and, and, and…

Nick Kyrgios v Coco Gauff.

View this post on Instagram

Nothing to see here — just a 15-year-old @cocogauff casually dropping a forehand winner against @k1ngkyrg1os at practice ??

A post shared by Mouratoglou Tennis Academy ?? (@mouratoglou_tennis_academy) on Mar 18, 2019 at 3:33pm PDT