Miami Open 2016 - Serena Williams, after surviving a gritty confrontation with fellow American Christina McHale on Thursday, will take on 22-year older Kazakh Zarina Diyas. Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, will open his Miami Masters campaign against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur.
Event Details:
Tournament: Miami Open/ Miami Masters
TV Schedule/ Starting Time: Coverage starts at 10:00 a.m US (EST) on ESPN, Tennis Channel and TSN Canada
Live Stream: ESPN Watch, Tennis Channel.com, TSN Canada
Additional Info: Order of Play, Live Scores and Results are available on Miami Open Scores
Rafael Nadal vs. Damir Dzumhur at 3:00 p.m US EST
Coming off a gallant campaign at the BNP Paribas Open, the 29-year old Nadal looks to continue his on-going quest of regaining the form that helped him won 14 Grand Slam championships at the Miami Masters.
While he shares the record with Novak Djokovic for the most Masters 1000 titles in history, the Spaniard is trekking unchartered territory in Key Biscayne as he never won a Miami Masters title in his career.
Taking on Nadal in the second round is the 23-year old Dzumhur, who edged Argentine veteran Leonardo Mayer in a three-set battle 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round.
Prediction: Nadal proving too much at this stage. He will take a two-set win 6-2, 6-2.
Serena Williams vs. Zarina Diyas 4:00 p.m US (EST)
Playing in her backyard tournament, the 34-year old Williams was expected to breeze through the early rounds despite falling to Victoria Azarenka in the BNP Paribas Finals.
However, Williams faced a stiff challenge against the 23-year old Christina McHale, who pushed the world's no.1 netter all the way to the third set in their second-round encounter. Although Serena managed to fend off McHale's upset bid, she's aware of her need to minimize errors if she wants to go deeper in the tourney.
"Christina just started playing better, and playing tennis she has never played before,'' Williams told reporters right after the match via ESPN. "I made a few mistakes and then I just had to pull myself back together.''
On Saturday, Williams will be taking on Diyas, who beat Daria Gavrilova 7-5, 6-3.
Prediction: Williams bounces back big, winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-3