Schedule and Preview Miami Open 2025 Day Three: Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Joao Fonseca and Danielle Collins begin campaigns

It is Day Three at Miami Open and the big names begin to enter the fray in Florida including the top WTA seed and two home heroes including the defending champion. Our preview looks ahead to Thursday in Miami.

It is mostly WTA led with Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Danielle Collins among the leading lights. But it is ATP to start off with as Christopher Eubanks who has received a wildcard for this tournament facing off against Reilly Opelka in their first round tie.

Opelka showed glimmers in Australia earlier this year of being back towards his best after injury travails including thrashing Novak Djokovic. But it hasn't transpired as much lately. While Eubanks is more of a commentator nowadays and works on Tennis Channel. After his run at Wimbledon two years ago, he has seemed to struggle and now sits having to get a wildcard to enter Miami.

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Gauff and Sabalenka take Centre Stage

But it is the main two WTA stars in action today (Iga Swiatek aside) and Coco Gauff v Sofia Kenin in particular has some sort of spice to it.

Gauff will be widely expected to win it but interestingly Kenin has it locked in Head to Head wise sitting at 2-2.

Kenin took their first win back in 2020 at the Australian Open. She went on to win the title that year so it was a landmark victory in the career of the American 6-7, 6-3, 6-0 in pretty emphatic fashion. Kenin held the edge winning at Wimbledon also famously in 2023 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

Kenin came from nowhere to dump out Gauff during that year but Gauff got revenge for the two Grand Slam losses showing both their respective levels at this point in their careers. She won 6-3, 6-3 at the Australian Open in January. Add in also victory in Auckland back in 2023.

Kenin to get here saw off Petra Kvitova who was on her return but still cannot seem to get back to her best as of yet and despite not being the player she perhaps was, Kenin is a nightmare to get as a first draw back.

Onto Aryna Sabalenka and interestingly again, it holds a bit of a lopsided Head to Head record. But one which is quite an anomaly.

She faces Viktoriya Tomova in her first tie of the tournament with the Bulgarian holding a win in their only tie winning 7-6, 6-4 all the way back in 2016.

Of course their careers have gone in different directions completely since this point with Sabalenka becoming the all conquering World No.1. But of course this adds a side quirk to a tie which on paper Sabalenka will be heavy favourite to win.

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Also in the case of Sabalenka, she tends to prove a point when she suffers a crushing loss. Take the defeat to Mirra Andreeva at Indian Wells, she similarly did so in situations such as Coco Gauff at the US Open and even Elena Rybakina in Brisbane last year before winning the title.

In addition it is a time of the year which will always hold significance and a sad one at that after the passing suddenly of her ex-boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov this time last year. She cut a more forlorn figure last year wearing a cap over her face and having to face her best friend Paula Badosa. While nothing will stop the thoughts of that, Sabalenka will look to rebound in many ways over the next week.

Collins, Zheng Qinwen, Fonseca and Rybakina also in action

Last year saw Danielle Collins heroically lift the title in Florida, hailing from nearby it was a week which she will likely always remember.

It saw her become the greatest player in the world in the eyes of some for a period of time and really catapulted a player who was set to retire at the end of that season into folklore. She decided to not retire and will still play on in 2025.

She has barely played though and so what form she is in is perhaps a mystery. She did have the iconic moment of the crowd fracas at the Australian Open though which saw her bring out her own merch. She will hope to cash more checks this week instead of suffering a meek title defence. She opens up against Sorana Cirstea.

The champion last year, Collins returns after her retirement U-turn

Before her and in between Sabalenka and Collins is the new kid on the block in Joao Fonseca. The Brazilian has courted a lot of attention as the male equivalent right now albeit with less senior success to Mirra Andreeva. A teenage prodigy, he won yet another title last week in Phoenix and claimed a third Challenger title. It is a real tantalising prospect to start his campaign. He faces Learner Tien who he beat in the final of the Next Gen Finals and Tien perhaps has kicked on more at senior level since including beating Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open.

A battle which we could see a few times or continually over the next ten years depending on career trajectory, it is a real top first round tie.

Away from the Stadium though, it is Zheng Qinwen who had a steady Indian Wells after Pere Riba returned to the fold. She faces Lauren Davis.

Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina face super tough openers when they take on Rebecca Sramkova and Ashlyn Krueger. Both players you don't want to draw and both on the rise. Jacob Fearnley, Kei Nishikori, Ons Jabeur, Daria Kasatkina, Naomi Osaka and Leylah Fernandez flank a pretty stacked Thursday in Florida.

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