Indian Wells and Miami Open top 10: Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek, Naomi Osaka, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud shine
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 04/04/2022 at 10:31 GMT
Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek won the Miami Open singles, but who have been the top 10 players from the last month of action on the ATP Tour and WTA Tour? Swiatek has been the dominant force in women's tennis this year and has now officially replaced Ashleigh Barty as world No.1. Alcaraz shone in Miami but there have also been other impressive performers.
Iga Swiatek esulta col trofeo per la vittoria del torneo di Miami in finale contro la Osaka
Image credit: Getty Images
For the first time since 2019, Indian Wells and the Miami Open have been completed back to back.
Taylor Fritz and Carlos Alcaraz took the men’s titles across the two Masters 1000 events while Iga Swiatek became only the fourth woman in history to win the Sunshine Double as she extended her winning run to 17 matches.
With attentions now turning to the clay swing, we look back on the top 10 players from the last month of the season…
Iga Swiatek
Surprise surprise.
Swiatek’s dominant start to the season has probably surpassed even her own expectations. She follows Stefanie Graf (1994 and 1996), Kim Clijsters (2005) and Victoria Azarenka (2016), as the only women to win Indian Wells and the Miami Open in the same season, and aged 20 is the youngest woman to achieve the feat.
Swiatek, who officially replaces Ashleigh Barty as world No.1 today, looks unstoppable right now. She is hitting the ball cleanly, generating big power on both sides, serving well, and finding ways out of tricky-looking situations. She’s has won her last 20 sets in a row and only lost more than three games in a set on two occasions in Miami.
If she stays fit and healthy then Swiatek is the clear player to beat on the WTA Tour over the next few months on clay, her favourite surface.
Carlos Alcaraz
Andy Roddick called it midway through the Miami Open: Alcaraz is the “real deal”.
Alcaraz’s stunning rise continued apace over the last fortnight as he became the youngest man to win in Miami and the third-youngest ATP Masters 1000 champion ever.
Nobody could match him. Miomir Kecmanovic was the only player to take a set from him over six contests. World No.5 Stefanos Tsitsipas was swept aside, so too defending champion Hubert Hurkacz, who almost sounded in awe of his opponent’s talent.
“He's playing insane for his age. It's really incredible how he plays, how he competes...He has an amazing career in front of him. It's crazy how good he plays."
Alcaraz also impressed at Indian Wells, taking out seeds Roberto Bautista Agut, Gael Monfils and Cameron Norrie in successive matches before narrowly losing out to Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals.
There is no doubt that the future looks very, very bright for the 18-year-old.
Naomi Osaka
It feels like Osaka is back - the four-time Grand Slam champion and former world No.1 version.
Osaka couldn’t stop Swiatek in the Miami Open final, but she was very impressive throughout the tournament, beating 13th seed Angelique Kerber, ninth seed Danielle Collins and 22nd Belinda Bencic. She is hitting the ball with authority again and those serving lessons with Nick Kyrgios seem to be paying off, against Bencic she struck 18 aces, the most by any player on the WTA Tour this season.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2022/04/02/3348724-68454748-2560-1440.jpg)
Naomi Osaka lost to Iga Swiatek in the Miami Open final
Image credit: Getty Images
Osaka’s on-court attitude also seems to be solid and she’s saying the right things. Against Bencic her mindset was: “Listen, if she beats you, someone is going to have to carry you off the court in a stretcher, because you're going to fight for everything.”
Who knows what the clay season holds for Osaka considering she has not enjoyed much success on the surface in the past, but if she can build on the last fortnight she should soon shoot up the rankings.
Taylor Fritz
When news emerged shortly before the Indian Wells final that Fritz was battling an ankle problem it looked almost certain that Nadal’s perfect start to the season would continue. But Fritz defied the odds – and his coaches, who said he shouldn’t play – to score the biggest title of his career.
The 24-year-old didn’t manage to back it up with another deep run in Miami, but two victories took him to 8-1 for the month, which is more than respectable.
He’s also broken into the top 15 in the world rankings for the first time in his career and is now the highest-ranked American man. How long that holds remains to be seen, but Fritz seems to be the leader of the upcoming young crop from the US at the moment.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2022/03/21/3342026-68320793-2560-1440.jpg)
Highlights: Fritz claims first Masters title with stunning win over Nadal at Indian Wells
Casper Ruud
Even Nick Kyrgios would have to tip his hat to Ruud for his performance over the last fortnight. Maybe.
Kyrgios publicly called out Ruud last summer for “stealing points” by playing in – and winning - low-ish calibre clay events after Wimbledon. But after losing to Kyrgios in convincing fashion in Indian Wells, Ruud responded with his best run at a hard-court tournament, even surprising himself somewhat.
“It was not where I imagine myself playing my first Masters 1000 final, but I will take it,” said Ruud, who has previously made Masters 1000 semi-finals on clay in Madrid, Monte Carlo and Rome.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2022/03/31/3347211-68424493-2560-1440.jpg)
Highlights: Big shock as Ruud downs Zverev to reach Miami Open semis
Ruud played some strong tennis to reach the final, especially in knocking out Norrie in straight sets and battling past world No.3 Alexander Zverev. He couldn’t overcome Alcaraz in the final, but who can right now?
This hard-court run in Miami should be a nice boost for Ruud ahead of the clay swing.
Miomir Kecmanovic
Hands up who predicted Kecmanovic making two quarter-finals over the last month? Anyone…?
The 22-year-old did not have much on his resume for the season before Indian Wells, aside from a run to the last 16 at the Australian Open as he tried to "avenge" fellow Serbian Novak Djokovic following his deportation.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2022/04/01/3347715-68434573-2560-1440.jpg)
Highlights: Alcaraz overcomes Kecmanovic to reach Miami Open semi-finals
However, Kecmanovic had a very strong March as he beat seeds Marin Cilic and Matteo Berrettini in Indian Wells and then knocked out Felix Auger-Aliassime and Fritz in Miami. He also gave Alcaraz arguably his toughest test of the week and was two points from victory on two occasions.
Kecmanovic struck the right notes with aggressive tennis and could be one to watch over the clay swing.
Daria Saville
Saville’s Miami Open run may have ended in swift fashion in the quarter-finals against Belinda Bencic, but the last month has still been overwhelmingly positive for the Australian.
The former world No.20 is making her way back after missing almost all of the last two years due to injuries. She was outside the top 400 going into Indian Wells but came through qualifying and beat ninth seed Ons Jabeur and 20th seed Elise Mertens, before retiring with injury against sixth seed Maria Sakkari.
/origin-imgresizer.eurosport.com/2022/04/03/3349149-68463253-2560-1440.jpg)
98 year-old Ukranian tennis player hits with Radwanska
She backed up her showing in Indian Wells by becoming the lowest-ranked player to reach the last eight in Miami ever, and the fourth wildcard after Justine Henin in 2010, Venus Williams in 2012 and Victoria Azarenka in 2018.
"Can't wait for the clay," was Saville's encouraging message after losing in Miami as she looks to continue to improve her ranking.
John Isner
Isner only managed two singles wins across Indian Wells and the Miami Open, but he struck gold in the doubles, winning both titles with different partners.
He teamed up with Jack Sock in Indian Wells and then lifted the Miami title with Hurkacz. Isner and Sock are now 26-8 together in doubles, with three ATP Masters 1000 titles, while the first run-out of the Isner-Hurkacz partnership proved a huge success as they took out three Grand Slam title-winning teams on the way to the final.
"I think John is the hottest doubles player on tour right now," said Hurkacz. "It definitely was a fun week. Playing with John is such a pleasure so we had a great time."
Jenson Brooksby
Brooksby didn’t go deep in Indian Wells or Miami, but picked up some big wins over world No.5 Tsitsipas, top-20 duo Bautista Agut and Nikoloz Basilashvili, and world No.25 Karen Khachanov.
He also pushed world No.2 Daniil Medvedev close in Miami, opening up a 5-3 lead in the first set but not able to serve it out. Even though Medvedev came through comfortably in the end he was impressed with what he saw on the other side of the net.
“Jenson has the potential to be a top player,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “He is really good and plays better than his ranking. I knew it was not going to be an easy match. I had no solutions at the beginning.”
“His strength is definitely, and that's the most important in tennis, put the ball in the right spot. In the beginning, that's what he was doing great. He was hitting corners, aggressive, some winners, not much I could do.”
It feels as though Brooksby still may need a weapon to challenge for big titles, but he is showing positive signs of progress.
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement