Miami Quarterfinals

So Miami has restored some of the order that was lost in Indian Wells, especially for the women.  The eight quarterfinalists are all seeded in the top 11, despite Halep pulling out late.  The men have had a few mild surprises but the Big 4 are in tact and all the quarterfinalists are seeded.

Wawrinka is still on an Aussie Open high as he was dumped out by Dolgopolov today.  On the injury front, good news for Ferrer as he was back in action and had two easy wins before blowing 4 match points against Nishikori in an epic.  But it is bad news for Del Potro who underwent wrist surgery the other day and is out indefinitely again.  Dolgopolov and Raonic both have reached the quarters again, and American play is still dismal.

Azarenka is out injured but the Williams sisters return although Serena has been less than stellar.  Cibulkova has backed up her Aussie Open final with nice results in America, taking out Venus yesterday.  Wozniacki has lost 2 games in knocking out 2 Americans in 2 days (Stephens and Lepchenko) after her struggle in Indian Wells that ended with her firing of another coach.  The Americans have fared decently with a qualifier Vandeweghe reaching the 4th round before meeting Serena.  Also keep an eye on young Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who is steadily moving up the rankings and will likely be seeding at the French Open, an event she won as a junior.

Here are the last eight in each draw:

Men
1) Rafael Nadal (ESP) - or 14) Fabio Fognini (ITA)
2) Novak Djokovic (SRB)
5) Roger Federer (SUI)
6) Andy Murray (GBR)
7) Tomas Berdych (CZE)
12) Milos Raonic (CAN)
20) Kei Nishikori (JPN)
22) Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR)

Women
1) Serena Williams (USA)
2) Na Li (CHN)
3) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
4) Maria Sharapova (RUS)
5) Angelique Kerber (GER)
8) Petra Kvitova (CZE)
10) Dominika Cibulkova (SVK)
11) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)

-There is a Czech in a draw but all other remaining players hail from different nations, with no French present.
-Six players who made the quarters in '13 are still alive, compared to 3 at Indian Wells: Murray and Berdych for the men; Serena, Li, Radwanska, and Sharapova for the women
-Also quite a number a players have made the quarters at both Indian Wells and Miami this year, 7 to be exact: Djokovic, Federer, Raonic, Dolgopolov, Li, Radwanska, and Cibulkova.  And that is in spite of all the upsets at IW.
-Federer will move up to no. 4 in the next rankings after Ferrer failed to defend his points.  He could also pass Wawrinka if he wins the title.  Raonic is into the top 10.
-Kvitova and Kerber have moved past Jankovic and Sharapova for 6 and 7 so presently Sharapova is down to no. 9.  One more win will put Cibulkova in the top 10 and Wozniacki has recouped some of her Indian Wells losses and is at no. 14.

Quarterfinal Matchups:

Nadal vs Raonic
Berdych vs Dolgopolov
Federer vs Nishikori
Djokovic vs Murray

Serena vs Kerber
Sharapova def Kvitova
Radwanska vs Cibulkova
Li vs Wozniacki

American Play:

Men - We could almost reprint the paragraph from Indian Wells.  Again only Isner made it out of the fourth round.  Again Querrey and Harrison disappointed.  And again a few younger names did manage to win a match.  Only this tournament Isner was knocked out by Berdych in the fourth round.  All in all, the Yanks went 6-7 and they received hardly any wildcards.  Wins went to Isner (2), Querrey (def. Stakhovsky, l. to Almagro), Sock (def. Pella, l. to Raonic), Harrison (def. Delbonis, l. to Becker in 3rd set tiebreak - boo because the draw opened up for Becker), and Young (def. Berlocq, l. to Isner).  First round losers were Klahn and q-Johnson.  All the Americans, interestingly, were in the top half of the draw.  Klahn is now the US #2 since Querrey lost points.  Young is #3 then Querrey.  So the US #2 has a grand total 3 ATP victories in his career, perhaps yet another new low for American tennis.

Women - Overall it has been a good tournament for the American women as they have posted an 18-11 record with Serena still in the draw.  They've gotten 3 wins from Serena, Lepchenko (def. Jankovic - 1st top 10 win, l. to Wozniacki), and q-Vandeweghe (def. Pavlyuchenkova and Stosur, l. to Serena). Venus (l. to Cibulkova) and Keys (snaps out of funk and beats Hantuchova, l. to Li) each won 2 matches.  Stephens, King (double bageled Cabeza Candela), Davis, Riske, and McHale (def. Zheng) all won one match while Mattek-Sands and Duval were the only first round losers.