TENNIS: Dubai, Golden Swing, USA

[JaneJeffer]

I agree, they just seem to merge the qualifying bit with the main draw- which is nice for the qualifiers- but it all feels a bit 'bitty' and I lose track. And I'm sure the women's draw 'proper' starts tomorrow- so some of the players will get a big gap between first matches (as the top seeds get a bye).

I have been checking out the bees in your neck of the woods over the weekend Raahh 🐝 Back home to the pissing rain now. Managed to see some of Carlos. He is on fire!

Happy belated birthday kazza!

https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/1769537165292347416?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

That is so funny- poor Carlos- he's had a very dramatic week!

Daniil seemed to be in a strange mood during the tournament but hilariously so!

I've just seen that Luca Nardi is playing Jakub Mensik shortly in the qualifiers - which is a bit unfortunate, as they both deserve to go through to the main draw given their recent form.

Oh no that’s a really unlucky draw for somebody Raahh. Presumably the draw took place before Indian Wells, otherwise Luca would have been seeded in qualifying.

I think so, Ice - he must have gone up a few spots last week.
It is a shame that one of them will miss out. They are both young enough to have plenty of chances in the future, but it still seems a bit unfair, when they have a bit of momentum on their side.

Typical!

Very sad news that Aryna Sabalenka's boyfriend has died- he was 42, an ex ice hockey player, they've been together about 3 years. He was with her in Miami whilst she prepared for the tournament. I know she was a big ice hockey fan, because her father was a player.

Oh no that’s really sad - she’s had some tough times recently with the loss of her Dad as well

She comes across as quite 'tough' , Aryna, to me anyway- but I suspect she isn't really. I wonder how this will affect her.

That's awful

Oh that’s awful news 😞

Poor Aryna.

Saw the news, that’s so awful. I can’t believe she’s going to play the tournament, but perhaps she feels like she needs the distraction.

Is she still going to play Ice? Poor Aryna - I also think she’s not as tough as she appears - must be so hard for her

Matteo and Andy Murray are playing each other in Miami in what the tennis podcast described as a sad off - it says that they are playing tomorrow at 4pm but it looks as if all the matches are starting at that time so not sure whether they will actually play then

Ice I've seen the updates of what apparently happened. It is extremely sad. Yes, maybe she needs the distraction. I imagine she is in a state of shock.

Oh yes I’ve just seen on BBC website that she intends to play in Miami - she’ll play Simone Halep if she gets through her first round match

Saw some photos of her practicing today and she was in head to toe black in the Miami heat… she’s a tough lady.

Apparently Keith Nishikori is playing in Miami - not seen him for a while

Fizzy Keith was one of that other 'next gen' Raonic, Goffin, Kei, Grigor too, I suppose- he did ok for a bit- never quite won the 'big' stuff, then injuries took over.
It took me awhile to warm to him, but actually he's great to watch when he's playing well. He's playing Ofner, who could be tricky.

I saw the start of the Halep /Badosa match (Paula has previously never taken a set from Simona) and Simona got off to a flying start- took the first set 6-1, but then Paula settled down. I think time off court started to show for Halep after that, and Paula got back in the match. I missed the last set . I thought Simona might just sneak it at the end, since Badosa herself has been a quite inconsistent and hit with injuries. I think Simona's serve was becoming an issue, but it's a start, and it's something to work on.

The Andy Murray/Berrettini match has just started - I just tried to engage DH in a conversation about whether Matteo would look better in a black t-shirt but he’s having none of it

There’s hardly anyone in the crowd! Might still be quite early in Miami though

It is quite early, I suppose.

Matteo's shirt looks almost sleeveless from a distance, it's the colour of the sleeves against the white I think.

He's worn black before and looked great.
Let's be honest, he looks great in anything.