The US Spring Hard Court season is in full flow as the Miami Open gets underway following on from a dramatic week in Indian Wells in both the male and female game. Check out our top Miami Open betting tips and predictions.
Tournament History
The Miami Open (or Miami Masters) is one of the premiere events on both the ATP and WTA Tours and it has been one of the flagship events outside of the Grand Slams for 35 years. 2019 sees the event move from Crandon Park in Key Biscayne to the purpose-built Hard Rock Stadium in downtown Miami – adding to the prestige associated with one of the biggest events in the calendar.
Format
The Miami Open hosts one of the biggest fields in professional tennis (outside of the Grand Slams) with 96 players making up the star-studded field. There are 12 qualifiers and 5 wild cards in both the male and female draws and each match is played over the best of three tie-break sets.
Venue
The Hard Rock Stadium in Miami is the new permanent home of the Miami Masters and the state-of-the-art facility promises to be an integral part of tennis in Florida for the players of the future – with 29 courts on-site.
Dates
Friday 22nd March 2019 – Sunday 31st March 2019.
Previous Winners (Men’s)
With a 35 year history to draw upon, the Miami Masters has a decorated list of winners on the ATP Tour. Andre Agassi was very much the man to beat in the late 1990s and early 2000’s and his 6 tournament wins has only been matched by all-conquering Serb Novak Djokovic. Legends of the game Pete Sampras and Roger Federer have both picked up the prestigious trophy on three occasions whilst Andy Murray and his former coach Ivan Lendl has won it twice.
Previous Winners (Women’s)
Similarly, the biggest names in women’s tennis over the past 35 years have peppered the winning roll call with Serena Williams topping the tree with a staggering 8 tournament triumphs. Next in line is Steffi Graf who has one less tournament win than her husband Andre Agassi with 5. Venus Williams meanwhile has picked up 3 trophies as has former World Number 1 Victoria Azarenka.
2019 Tournament Preview
Men’s:
The prospect of the next generation taking over on the ATP Tour looks more realistic than ever following Dominic Thiem’s Indian Wells triumph last week. Novak Djokovic will be (as always) the man to beat whilst Roger Federer and Milos Raonic enjoyed excellent runs in California last week. Potential upstarts in the game Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Karen Khachanov will also be keen to make an impact on the big stage here.
Women’s:
The WTA Tour was thrown wide open last week with Bianca Andresscu’s wild-card win in Indian Wells. The teenager will be thrust back into the spotlight here in Miami with the likes of Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Sloane Stephens and Naomi Osaka all likely to be fit and firing in Florida. Elsewhere, Angelique Kerber’s run to the final last week in Indian Wells will fill her with confidence whilst Elina Svitolina shouldn’t be discarded either.
2019 Miami Open Tournament Preview
Men’s Outright Winner Odds:-
Much like Indian Wells last week, the Miami Open provides an opportunity for players to pick up ranking points and form before the European Clay Court season next month.
Here are some of our favourites for the Miami Open title:-
Novak Djokovic– 11/8 (Bet365) –
The six-time Miami Open Champion returns to Florida looking for his first triumph here since 2016. Despite a poor showing at Indian Wells last time out, the Serb is comfortably the number 1 player in the world and will be looking to put down a marker for the season ahead here.
Roger Federer – 7/2 (888sport) –
Having reached the final at Indian Wells last week, the ‘GOAT’ looks well set to maintain another strong season on the ATP Tour. He’ll be looking to rid the memory of his ‘choke’ against Dominic Thiem last week and add to his tally of three Miami Open championships.
Alexander Zverev – 12/1 (Betfred) –
Alexander Zverev has endured a difficult start to 2019 and the manner of his defeat to Jan-Lennard Struff in Indian Wells will be cause for concern. Questions continue to circulate about his mentality at this level and he’ll be keen to prove the doubters wrong here.
Dominic Thiem – 14/1 (Coral) –
The Austrian picked up his first trophy of the year in Indian Wells and he will be eager to kick on here. The European clay court season is the period of the year he generally plays his best tennis and he’ll be looking to generate as much momentum as possible here.
Kei Nishikori – 18/1 (BetBright) –
‘Special K’ continues to perform on the ATP Tour and currently sits at number 6 in the world. His fighting spirit has seen him though most of the year so far and if he can start playing his best tennis he will certainly be one to watch in an event he has enjoyed previously.
Milos Raonic – 20/1 (Unibet) –
Canadian superstar Milos Raonic has been in fine form in 2019 – epitomised by his run to the last 8 of the Australian Open and run to the semi-finals at Indian Wells last week. His powerful game will be well suited to the speedy courts and he could cause some damage once again.
John Isner – 50/1 (William Hill) –
Defending champion John Isner is at home in Miami and will be eager to put on a strong defence of his title. He hasn’t enjoyed his best year on the tour thus far but his power-hitting is sure to provide many problems for his opponents in the Florida heat.
Top Pick – Novak Djokovic – 11/8 (Bet365)
Outside Pick – Milos Raonic – 20/1 (Unibet)
2019 Miami Open Tournament Preview
Women’s Outright Winner Odds:-
Following yet another dramatic week at Indian Wells, the Miami Open promises to throw up another whirlwind of must-watch contests on the WTA Tour.
Here are some of our favourites for the Miami Open title:-
Serena Williams – 8/1 (Bet365) –
Despite having to pull out in Indian Wells, the nature of Serena’s win over Victoria Azarenka suggests she is somewhere near back to her best. She has always enjoyed playing in Miami and looks significantly overpriced at 8/1.
Naomi Osaka – 9/1 (Betfred) –
The Australian Open champion went out at the hands of Belinda Bencic at Indian Wells and will be looking to bounce back here. At the age of 21 and with two Grand Slams already in the bag, her age is often overlooked and she will be keen to kick on and demonstrate maturity here.
Simona Halep– 9/1 (Ladbrokes) –
Inconsistency continues to blight Simona Halep’s game and her last 16 defeat in an open draw last time out at Indian Wells will be a tough one to take for the Romanian. She has all the tools to compete here and it will just be a case of whether she can play at her best all week.
Angelique Kerber – 12/1 (Royal Panda) –
Having reached the final at Indian Wells last time out, Angelique Kerber looks to be back to somewhere near her best. She too possesses plenty of hitting power which should be ideal in Miami and she could be one to watch here.
Petra Kvitova – 14/1 (888sport) –
The Australian Open finalist bombed out to Venus Williams in California but her season thus far has been very consistent. In one of very few events to have eluded her in her career – she will be looking to win her maiden Miami Open here.
Elina Svitolina – 16/1 (William Hill) –
The Ukrainian hotshot reached the last 4 at Indian Wells and seems to be on the brink of something pretty special. The lack of trophies in the cabinet is the only criticism that can be levelled at her and she’ll be keen to put that right here.
Belinda Bencic – 30/1 (Betsson) –
As one of the form players on the tour, Belinda Bencic will be keen to kick on and get into the winner’s circle in Miami. Her run to the semi-finals at Indian Wells included wins over Pliskova and Osaka and she could well be one to emerge from the pack this week.