The 2022 Miami Open, the second part of the Sunshine Double, is set to kick off on Monday, March 21, with the opening qualifying matches, followed by the first round of the Main Draw on Wednesday, March 23.
With only a few days separating us from one of the most exciting and well-known tennis tournaments on the schedule, it’s time to look at what should happen in sunny Miami, Florida so you can get ready to bet against the ATP Odds.
2022 Miami Open Miami Open presented by Itau Expert Analysis | Tennis Betting
2022 Miami Open
The Miami Open is the second tournament of the “Sunshine Double” (the first being Indian Wells) and one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments – that is not a Grand Slam. Entering its 37th edition, Miami Open has been held as a staple of both the ATP and WTA tours since 1985 and often welcomes some of the best tennis players in the world, and this year is no exception.
The singles bracket for men and women features 96 players, which is a huge jump from the usual 64-man/woman field in smaller events.
Moreover, the Miami Open marks the beginning of the Tour Master 100 for men, whereas it’s the third Masters 100 even for the women’s WTA 1000.
The field will miss some big names this year, most notably Rafael Nadal, who announced he would not travel to Florida. He noted that he believes transitioning to clay courts could be dangerous coming straight from the hard courts (Miami Open) and instead chose to skip the event and focus on the upcoming competitions.
Joining Nadal on the list of absences is Novak Djokovic, who is not allowed to enter the United States due to his unvaccinated status. That’s an unfortunate situation knowing that the Serbian would likely be the main favorite to defeat given his past success here (six titles).
The women’s bracket will miss the top-rated Ash Barty, who decided to skip the Sunshine Double entirely, citing she needs time to rest after her success in Australia. Like Djokovic, Barty would likely be the one to beat, having won the Miami Open back-to-back in 2019 and 2021.
Player To Watch – Daniil Medvedev
With Nadal and Djokovic out of the competition, the field will be slightly weaker, but there’s still plenty of talent to look out for.
Daniil Medvedev had a terrible showing at Indian Wells, where he got eliminated in R3, effectively losing his no.1 rating. For some, Medvedev’s terrible showing last week could be a sign to avoid betting on him, but for us, this is a chance to place a wager on him at much better odds.
Yes, he hasn’t been excellent this season, but his hard-court record across the last 12 months is phenomenal. Since March 2021, Medvedev is 54-11 on this surface and has won three hard-court tournaments, including Open 13 Provence, the ATP Masters 1000, and the US Open.
Does his past success guarantee him success next week? No. But with such numbers, it’s very hard to look past Medvedev, especially knowing that we might get juicier odds on him due to his iffy showing at Indian Wells.
Moreover, Medvedev has done well at Miami Open in the past. He first appeared at the tournament in 2018, when he could only manage R2, and improved upon that in 2019, when Medved reached R4.
In his third and most recent trip to the Hard Rock Stadium in 2021, Medvedev reached the quarter-finals, when he lost against Bautista Agut (4-6, 2-6). SO while he has yet to make semis, Medvedev has shown incredible improvement since his last appearance at the Miami Open and is currently the best hard-court player in the field.
