Daily Dose of Social Media: Kyrgios reacts to Mensik’s Miami win, Eala’s throwback photo with Sharapova

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, we review some of the moments that stole the spotlight during the day, including Nick Kyrgios' reaction to Jakub Mensik's remarkable Miami Open title, while Alexandra Eala appeared in a childhood photo with Maria Sharapova.

On the other hand, a video of Mirra Andreeva having fun during the rain delays in the Miami Open women’s doubles final surfaced, while Holger Rune shared his thoughts on which ATP Tour colleague could win a UFC fight.

The rainy Sunday at the Miami Open caused major delays in the finals. While the delay in Novak Djokovic’s match against Jakub Mensik stole the spotlight, the women’s doubles players also saw their match interrupted. In fact, the doubles finalists had only played three games before rain suspended the match.

Among the players affected was none other than Mirra Andreeva (World No. 6), who had suffered an early singles exit but reached the doubles final alongside her compatriot Diana Shnaider.

After the match was suspended for several hours, Andreeva passed the time by having fun in the rain and joking around with her coach, former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martínez. She also showed off her great sense of humour, sharing laughs with her partner Shnaider while they waited on court for play to resume. Andreeva and Shnaider finally won their biggest title as a partnership in their first WTA 1000, beating Miyu Kato and Cristina Bucsa 6-3, 6-7, [10-2].

Holger Rune took part in a fun interview with Over Time Tennis, where he was asked which of his ATP colleagues could win a UFC fight.

The Danish player has been competing at the Miami Open, though his campaign ended early with a first-round defeat to Reilly Opelka. The 11th seed lost in a third-set tiebreak, following an impressive run to the final in Indian Wells, where he fell to Jack Draper in the title match. “Who in the ATP do you think could win a UFC fight?” Rune was asked.

“Who’s like Khabib?” he said while thinking. “I’m thinking of Kecmanovic. He’s not super tall like many players, but he has a good base, he’s strong, he has a good core. So I’m going to say (Miomir) Kecmanovic.”

Rune has faced Kecmanovic four times, leading their head-to-head 3-1, including two meetings this year in Davis Cup and the Australian Open.

Alexandra Eala shared an old photo of herself with former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova. The Filipino star had already gone viral a few days ago for a throwback picture from a few years ago alongside Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal during her 2023 graduation ceremony. However, this time, a fan shared a never-before-seen photo of Eala as an adorable young girl posing with Sharapova.

It has not been confirmed how old Eala was or where the photo was taken, though the World No. 75 had previously mentioned that the Russian player was her inspiration. “I had a poster of her in my room, she was my fifth-grade project,” Alex Eala said during the Madrid Open. “I like her style, I like how she fought and ran after every ball.”

When asked, “Are there any current or past players on the women’s side that you particularly looked up to in terms of your game style, kind of wanting to emulate them on the court?”, she revealed, “Absolutely. Growing up, my absolute favorite was Maria Sharapova.”

Check out the heartwarming photo of the Filipino rising star with the five-time Grand Slam champion below:

Nick Kyrgios reacted to Jakub Mensik’s remarkable run after the Czech teenager claimed the Miami Open Masters 1000 title. The 19-year-old had a dream fortnight, defeating top opponents like Jack Draper (No. 6) and Taylor Fritz (No. 4) before stunning 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic 7-6, 7-6 in the final.

One of those closely following the Miami final was 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Kyrgios, who took to social media to share his thoughts on the young Czech, showering him with praise.

“Mensik is truly something special. Not just to have such composure against the greatest of all time on such a stage, but the fact that he is 19….. this is truly a special kid with plenty of potential to do special things. ✨”

Carlos Alcaraz is already training on clay courts at the Murcia Club de Tenis in his hometown after an early exit at the Miami Open. The Spaniard suffered a surprising opening-round defeat to David Goffin, cutting short his Miami campaign. He then took a few days off with his family in the Mexican Riviera but is now back on court preparing for the start of the clay swing, with images surfacing from his first clay training session.

Alcaraz is set to compete at the Monte-Carlo Masters starting on April 7. Unlike previous years, he opted out of the South American clay swing in February, making this his first tournament on clay since the 2024 Olympic Games, where he won the silver medal.

The 2024 French Open champion aims to move past two tough losses during the Sunshine Double—falling to Jack Draper in the Indian Wells semifinals and then to Goffin in his Miami opener. Alcaraz will travel to Monte-Carlo later this week alongside Samuel López, as Juan Carlos Ferrero will not be in his box this time. Meanwhile, he continues his preparations in Murcia.

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