Americans in contention at Miami Open are few and far between
The majority of US players left are in doubles
This has been a peculiar year at the Miami Open. The top three ranked women, Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, and Coco Gauff, have been eliminated early. The American men have bowed out, making it the first time since 2016 that no American men are in the Miami Open fourth round.
Jessica Pegula is the lone singles player standing. Pegula's season also has been peculiar but a win close to home in Miami would reset it in spectacular fashion. She played two tough opponents in Leylah Fernandez and Emma Navarro. In the quarterfinals, she faces Ekaterina Alexandrova who upset Swiatek in straight sets. (Correction: Danielle Collins is also in contention.)
There are plenty of Americans playing doubles, two are former Grand Slam champions.
American doubles teams
Gauff and Pegula, the 2023 Miami Open doubles champions lost early this year, but the team of Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and 39-year-old doubles specialist Bethanie Mattek-Sands have a quarterfinal match scheduled against the top-seeded team Elise Mertens and Hsie Su-wei on Tuesday night. Kenin and Mattek-Sands won in Dubai last month. The American team of Asia Muhammad and Alycia Parks is also in the quarterfinals with a match against the Ukrainian team of Anhelina Kalinina and Dayana Yastremska. Ashlyn Krueger and US Open champion Sloane Stephens (who took out Gauff and Pegula in the first round) have a Round of 16 match Tuesday against Wang Xiyu and Linda Noskova.
The men's doubles team of Ben Shelton and Christopher Eubanks will also play Tuesday evening in a match against Marcelo Melo and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Shelton and Eubanks are an exciting team combining power and finesse who are seeking their first career ATP doubles title together.
Doubles do not normally garner a lot of attention, but in an Olympic year, it is worth noting what all-American teams are playing well together dobecause we may see them playing together on the Olympic stage in Paris this summer.
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