Welcome to the Monday tennis briefing, where Athletics Will explain the stories behind last week’s stories in court.
This week, the Miami Open has crowned its champions, with Aryna Sabalenka And Jakub Menšík Take the titles in single. Elsewhere, n ° 1 world male Jannik sinner Had a big swing territory Mirra Andreeva Used doubles to keep your feet on the ground.
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How did the absence of sinner leave him without being disturbed as world No. 1?
Adding the ranking points won by male players during this year Australian Open,, BNP Paribas Open And Miami OpenThe highest count belongs to someone who only participated in one of these events. The big winner of the ATP of the first Grand Slam of 2025, then the post-Melbourne “Double Sunshine” in California and Florida is Pinner, who did not play any of the last two tournaments because of his three-month anti-doping ban.
While the champion of the consecutive Australian Open obtained training representatives before his return to the tour in May, his rivals failed to capitalize on his absence. It is almost guaranteed now that the sinner will always be n ° 1 when he starts his return in five weeks to Clay at the Italian Open in Rome.
Nominal world number 2 Alexander Zverev Was also seen for the last time playing appropriate tennis in Melbourne – the difference between him and the sinner is that he has played in five events since. But the German looked like a shadow of himself from the moment the sinner beat him in this Australian Open final, and after losing his first match at Indian Wells, he released Arthur son in the open round of Miami, despite a break in the final set.
Sinner’s main rival, Carlos Alcaraz, was beaten in his first match in Miami. In Indian Wells, he had failed to recover from a first set horror show in the semi-finals, losing against the possible champion Jack draper. Alcaraz had sometimes seemed lost during the two games – as he did when he lost in the Australian quarter -final open to an injured Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic looked refreshed in Miami after his own early outing in the Indian Wells, but did not have to beat a player among the first 14 to arrive in the final. When he arrived, he lost precisely the kind of match he made a career to win. His opponent in this final, Menšík, was superb in a 7-6 victory (4), 7-6 (4), but the neutralization of the large servers and the winning bonds have long been two of the Djokovic call cards.
Menšík, 19, had a revolutionary tournament, just like Draper in Indian Wells, but among the rivals established from Sinner, it was generally a fairly difficult month.
Sometimes, in sport, the most useful results of players come when they are not even present.
March 2025 undoubtedly strengthened the position of the sinner at the top of male tennis, without playing a single point.
Charlie Eccleshare
How does Andreeva use doubles to keep it rooted?
It was also a double of Sunshine for Andreeva, who followed her title of simple Wells Indian Wells by winning the doubles of Miami Open, with her close friend and compatriot Diana Shnaider.
Andreeva, the 17 -year -old Russian, is unusual among the first 10 in the world by continuing to play regular doubles, and he continues for a long time – because the advantages go beyond his tennis.
She and Shnaider, 20 years old, play with the type of lightness which is generally nonexistent in the head-to-head combat of singles, and can only be beneficial so that two young people master themselves with the version of professional tennis. The chronology of the WTA tour is strewn with wonders that are exhausted due to the suffocating pressure of sport.
The meaning of the humor of the pair was useful on Sunday, during the long rain delay which interrupted their final victory 6-3, 6-7 (5), 10-2 against Cristina Bucsa and Miyu Kato of Japan.
This is the second title of Andreeva and Shnaider as partners, having for the first time united their forces when they headed for Olympic silver medals in August. Since then, the two have talked about how much they like to play together and how it benefits.
Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva with the double Miami open trophy. (Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)
“When we play double, we don’t both like when it’s very tense,” said Andreeva An interview at Melbourne Park in January. “Thus, for example, when the score is 5-4 and we have to be used for the match, we are both at the same time to try to say jokes or to relax a little.
“We always make fun of ourselves, so if it strikes an incredible shot. I say to myself, “Have you seen this?” Are you Roger Federer? I mean, come on, stop. And then after that, I have the impression that it was fired and it still makes better shots.
Shnaider, who has a simple delicate season after a 2024 breakthrough, also feels the advantages and said in an interview in New York before US Open from last year: “I need jokes in the court. I need smiles. I need to have interviews with a partner enjoying doubles. Because for me, I only free up stress and tender it.
“And I knew she is a very open person. She is very emotional. She likes to speak, likes jokes and likes to smile. So I said to myself: “It’s the right adjustment”. “
Before their double victory in Miami, Andreeva had endured a stressful defeat in simple against Amanda Anisimova in the third round, while Shnaider lost to Anna Blinka in the second.
They could both wrap and leave Miami then to rest or train. Instead, the two found something more precious on the Court of Double.
Charlie Eccleshare
Not the “double of the sun” that American men hoped
A few months ago, it seemed to be a fairly special and miami Indian swing for American men.
With the world’s n ° 1 sinner on the sidelines and the best Djokovic of sport, something from a question mark and on the point of being 38 years old, it seemed that there could be an opening for a group of rivals who are often their best on the ground at home. The main Americans are court players who aim to make hay during swings of the North American hard terrain-in particular this, which precedes a three-month trip to Europe and its organic areas.
Ben Shelton came out of a race at the Semi-finals of the Australian Open. Taylor Fritz was not far from being a finalist at the US Open of last year, being a finalist in the ATP Tour finals in November and winning the United Cup with his country in January. Tommy Paul was a top 10 player. Frances Tiafoe is still pulled for house fans.
When it was over, Fritz, still fighting against a right abdominal injury, had the best performance through the two events, falling in Menšík in the semi-finals of Miami during a third set equality. He managed to lose without having his service broken all night. Some bad decisions in the first and third equality breakdown prevented him from the final.
Shelton fell into the Indian Wells districts to the possible draper champion. Not bad, and he seemed to have found his rhythm on the gravelly and up to height in California. But then, in Miami, he lost his opening match against a Joker, Coleman Wong of Hong Kong.
Paul disappeared during his 16 game final at Indian Wells against Daniil Medvedev. In Miami, he lost his second match against Francisco Cerundolo. He has 7-4 since he entered the top 10. Tiafoe? He went 2-2 to double the Sunshine, with losses against the sons and Yosuke Watanuki.
And he went.
The learner did not win a match. Alex Michelsen won only one.
Not beautiful for home players in March.
Matt Futterman
Danielle Collins obtains a victory
Danielle Collins could not keep her title in Miami, but ended up leaving with another type of trophy.
Collins came across a dog that had been hit by a car during his stay in the city. She stopped, took the animal to a local veterinary hospital and saw that he had obtained the care he needed, by surgery and five days on oxygen.
The puppy held through, Collins has announced that she had adopted it and called it “Crash”.
“His breathing is back to normal, his wounds heal and he certainly appreciates all the love he receives,” said Collins on Instagram, showing the last add to her family who huddles with her in bed. Crash joins Quincy, who has accompanied Collins in the tour for some time now.
“He is curious, affectionate and grateful for a second chance to live. It was incredibly painful to see a dog in so much pain after being hit by a car, and left in the middle of the road with so many people who led by his covered body. I am just grateful to have been there and recover it.”
Maybe not another trophy. But maybe something better. And a good thing for Crash that Collins decided not to retire at the start of this season.
Now, she has another title to defend this week in Charleston, SC, where she will seek to stay in the top 32 in the world and to sow for the next Grand Chelem in Paris next month.
Matt Futterman
Recommended reading:
🏆 Winners of the week
🎾 ATP:
🏆 Menšík defeated. Djokovic (4) 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4) to win the Miami Open (1,000) in Miami. This is his first ATP 1000 title.
🎾 WTA:
🏆 Sabalenka (1) defeated. PEGULA (4) 7-5, 6-2 to win the Miami Open (1,000) in Miami. This is the 19th title of tour of the Bélarus WTA.
📈📉 Coming up / at the bottom of the line
📈 Eala Monte 65 places from n ° 140 to a career summit of n ° 75 after its race at the semi-finals of Miami Open.
📈 Menšík Monte 30 places from n ° 54 to No. 24 after winning the Miami Open.
📈 Tereza Valentová Monte 41 places from n ° 211 to a career summit of n ° 170 after winning the ITF W75 event in Murska Sobota, in Slovenia.
📉 Medvedev Fall three places from n ° 8 to n ° 11, leaving the top 10 of the ATP for the first time since 2019.
📉 Caroline Garcia Offers 27 places from n ° 74 to n ° 101, leaving the top 100 of WTA for the first time since 2013.
📉 Thiago Seyboth Sauvage Type 15 spots from n ° 96 to n ° 111, leaving the TOP 100 ATP.
📅 Coming
🎾 ATP
📍houston: US male clay courtyard championship (250) featuring Paul, Tiafoe, Michelsen, Tien.
📍Marrakech, Morroco: Hassan II Grand Prix (250) with Tallon Griekspoor, Lorenzo Sonego, Otto Virtanen, Pavel Kotov.
📍Bucharest, Romania: Tiriac Open (250) with Sebastian Baez, Gabriel Diallo, Botic Van de Zandschulp, Noishesh Basavareddy.
📺 United Kingdom: Sky Sports; United States: tennis channel 💻
🎾 Wta
📍charleston, SC: Charleston Open (500) with Pegula, Madison Keys, Zheng Qinwen, Belinda Bencic.
📍Bogotá, Colombia: Copa Colsanitas Zurich (250) Starter Marie Bouzkova, Camila Osorio, Iva Jovic, Alycia Parks.
📺 United Kingdom: Sky Sports; WE:
Tell us what you noticed this week in the comments below while men and women visits continue.
(Top Photo: Patrick Hamilton / AFP via Getty Images; Design: Eamonn Dalton)