By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
The second Wednesday of the Miami Open was when I was finally able to make to Hard Rock Stadium for one of the great tennis tournaments in th world.
I mistakenly scheduled my doctor’s visit junket in New York City during the first week and weekend of the tournament (which allowed me to watch college basketball’s March Madness in the Big Apple as you can see here: https://youtu.be/xVCRF8nYr88?si=T0DJQK5Q3oAyJ6FA) So, I was late out the gate and not able to enjoy what I think is the best part of the tournament which is the first seven days or so when most of the outer courts are packed with play. But this was going to be a different Miami Open experience to check out the scene later in the tournament.
Unfortunately, I got off to a very late start as the caregiver for my 89-year-old mom with dementia canceled at the last minute and I had to scramble for four hours to get someone to come and help her, which was not easy. Fortunately, the drive to the tournament is not that difficult. One of the positives about the Miami Open moving to Hard Rock Stadium from Key Biscayne is that is an easier drive for most people to get to see the tennis. The site is just off of the Florida Turnpike making for about an hour less travel time for most people in South Florida who want to drive to see the tennis than when the event was in Key Biscayne, which is further south, through the traffic of downtown Miami and let’s not even talk about the traffic on the Rickenbacker Causeway, as beautiful as the scenery there is.
It’s just under a two-hour drive for me from my house in Vero Beach, Florida to Hard Rock Stadium, but, due to the delay, I missed the entire quarterfinal match between Caroline Garcia and Danielle Collins, won by Collins, who at age 30, is set to retire at the end of the season and pursue other interests in life. When I entered the gates after getting my media credential, I walked towards the media room and who comes walking out but James Blake, the event tournament director and former U.S. Davis Cup hero. We exchanged greetings as I’ve known James since 1997 and worked with him when I was the U.S. Davis Cup team press officer. Our relationship started when he was a junior with a conversation that was his first start in pro tennis as you can read about in this classic Christopher Clarey New York Times article “Finding A Stadium Of Inspiration” here https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/22/sports/finding-a-stadium-full-of-inspiration.html. I told James that I enjoyed his recent appearance on Andy Roddick’s new podcast “Served” where they discussed a lot of the Davis Cup team hijinks that he, Andy, Mardy Fish and others got into. We laughed when we discussed that many of the jokes were not for public consumption, as he and Andy laughed about too on the podcast.
In the elevator up to the Edwin Pope Media Room, I struck up a talk with a Polish journalist and asked him who he thought would play Olympic mixed doubles for Poland in Paris this summer with Iga Swiatek. Would it be Hubert Hurkacz or Jan Zielinksi. “Hurkacz,” he said. “He will play all three disciplines singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Iga will play just singles and mixed doubles.” Zielinski is a former Georgia Bulldog All-American who won the Australian Open mixed doubles title earlier this year. I profiled him last year here: https://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/22485
As I entered the media room, located in the northwest corner of the stadium, I was greeted with the friendly face of Matt Pressman, the new publisher of Florida Tennis magazine. We always have great conversations and I recently included him in my Delray Beach Open video that you can see here: https://youtu.be/UN1L-JdF63g?si=kpqoVUyMATQvXHCa As I was driving down to Miami, I was a little saddened knowing that this would be the first time I would go to a Miami Open not see the ever constant Jim Martz, the Florida Tennis magazine founder and long-time Miami’s Herald and sports writer who passed away earlier this year.
I watched the first set of the quarterfinal match between Jannik Sinner and Tomas Machac, that included one of the shots year from Sinner as you can see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7I30QACFyI then ducked into the Danielle Collins press conference. I was always a fan of Collins since I first met her on the streets of New York City in 2014 during the U.S. Open along with her University of Virginia coach Mark Gilbeau, who I knew from his days as the assistant coach at the University of Georgia. I loved her competitive grit and sass and since my grandfather went to UVA and I have strong ancestral ties to Charlottesville, Virginia, it was another reason to always root for her. The 2024 season will be her last on tour, at age 30, and some have started to question her decision to leave pro tennis since she is playing some of the best tennis of her career, she steadfastly defended her decision in the media conference, citing some of her health problems and her desire to have children.
Sinner then finished off Machac in straight sets and I wanted to participate in his press conference to ask him a question for a story I am working on, which I did. I stayed in the press seating during the portion of the conference that was in Italian, because isn’t kind of soothing to hear Italians speaking in their native language? As the conference ended with a flurry of “Grazis” and “Ciaos” I was happy to have a nice talk with Matt Futterman with the New York Times and The Athletic. I saw that he signed up for the Miami Open’s “Bud Collins Media Tournament” where he listed his playing level as “suboptimal” which is very funny. I was happy to hear that he is an enthusiastic player and plays often on New York City’s public courts.
I had to take in the grounds of the tournament and check out the food court and other offerings, so headed out of the stadium and went for a stroll, also checking out the end of the entertaining doubles match on Grandstand between Sloane Stephens (and PTR pro) and Ashlyn Krueger against reigning U.S. Open champions Gaby Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe, won by the Canadian-Kiwi pair in a match tiebreaker in a really entertaining match. After getting a $9 slice of pizza (it was very good, but not THAT good for the price), I headed back in the stadium for the first night match between Jessica Pegula and Ekaterina Alexandrova. I always like to check out the last rows when in tennis stadiums or other venues, so I ventured to the very top of the stadium for some photos and I did this video discussing attendance records in tennis here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tESpDeGrGSw&t=5s. The Miami Open should see how many people they get for one match and create some extra buzz for the tournament, and try to create some tennis history.
The Miami Open is known for its South American flavor and when a South American plays a night match there, the atmosphere is electric. I wanted to stay to watch Chile’s star Nicolas Jarry play defending champion Daniil Medvedev but Alexandrova won the second set (and eventually the match) to extend the match to after 9 pm, so I knew I had to leave to get home at a reasonable hour, so I was only able to catch the end of Medvedev’s win on Tennis Channel, where Jim Courier said in his commentary the stadium felt like “an earthquake zone” with the vociferous loud and stomping Chilean fans rooting for Jarry.
I shortly thereafter went to bed, feeling exceptionally satisfied with an entertaining and enriching day at the Miami Open. I can”t wait to get back.
