The Miami Open is a very exciting event. It is a Masters 1000 tournament, the 2nd biggest type of tournament after the Grand Slams. 96 men and 96 women participated this year including Carlos Alcaraz who is 3rd in the world in men’s tennis, eventual champion Jannik Sinner who is 2nd and Iga Swiatek who is 1st in women’s tennis. 400,000 spectators watched the tournament in person this year.
As always, the first 48 matches are exciting but there are usually not many upsets. However, this year there were more surprises than usual. For example, top 10 player Stefanos Tsitsipas was defeated by number 120 in the world, Canadian Denis Shapovalov in two quick sets. Even more impressive, Andrey Rublev, a top 5 player, was defeated by Czech Tomas Machac in two sets. Many were surprised since top players usually don’t lose so early. In the second round, Holger Rune, a young Denish top 10 player was defeated by up and coming Hungarian Fábián Marozsán, a win that brought him into the top 30.
Fast forward to the quarter finals, Carlos Alcaraz, the top seed, was defeated by Grigor Dimitrov, a very talented player with the rare one-handed backhand in two swift sets. This set tension for the final as no one expected Alcaraz to be defeated. Dimitrov went on to beat Alexander Zverev and made it to the final to find himself playing against Jannik Sinner. In a very decisive two sets Sinner was crowned the Miami Open 2024 Champion.
On the woman’s side, Danielle Collins, after dropping the first set in her first round match, went on to win 12 straight sets and destroy everyone in her path to win the title. Some of the top players she defeated include: number 4 Elena Rybakina, number 14 Ekaterina Alexandrova, and former number 3 Caroline Garcia. Not only this, but at the start of the year, she announced her retirement, after having a long career. She had been battling chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and chronic inflammation, causing her to want to put the racket down for good. But, in her last year, she managed to win the biggest title of her career.
Other honorable moments for the women’s tournament include top seed Iga Swiatek being beaten by Ekaterina Alexandrova. Number 2 in the world Aryna Sabalenka being defeated by number 32 Anhelina Kalinina. Number 6 in the world Ons Jabeur was defeated by Elina Avanesyan who is ranked in the 60s.
This year’s tournament was exciting from the very beginning, with a lot of emotion, passion, and surprises to the end.
