The Miami Open is open for business.
The annual tennis tournament is underway with qualifying matches. Although several star players are missing from the men’s draw, including Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, there’s still plenty of star power to see on the courts at Hard Rock Stadium.
Coco Gauff, ranked 6th in the world, is thrilled to be playing at the home of the Miami Dolphins.
“So special to play here, I live only 45 minutes away, so I’m just really happy to be at a home tournament, in front of family and friends and enjoy this home crowd, especially in a stadium where I root for my favorite NFL team, too,” Gauff said.
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Gauff is also a Miami Heat fan and said she hopes Jimmy Butler attends one of her matches.
Last year’s Miami Open champ and current world No. 1 on the men’s side, Carlos Alcaraz, is happy to be back in Miami Gardens. He enjoyed tremendous fan support last year.
“It’s amazing to be back here in Miami, this is so special tournament for me, it was my first Masters 1000 and as you said, I felt the love of the people since day one and it was the most important thing for me and I felt great support and I can’t wait to play here again this year,” Alcaraz said.
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For years, going back to the days when the tournament was held in Key Biscayne, players have said the Open has been a favorite tour stop. It’s also hugely popular among tennis fans, such as Leon and Tamora Bynoe, who are husband and wife physicians.
“I just see patients in the morning and then come out in the afternoon and watch tennis all day and then do it again the next day so we have a great time here,” Dr. Leon Bynoe said.
“And what I love about it,” Dr. Tamora Bynoe added, “it’s like our own mini grand slam here in South Florida, with the best players in the world coming in to compete.”
The third-ranked men’s player, Stefanos Tsitsipas, is here. He said NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo’s effort to build basketball courts all over their homeland, Greece, inspired him to build tennis courts back home.
“So my big plan now is to build as many tennis courts as possible to give access to kids that are underprivileged and don’t have access to the sport, rackets, balls, whatever they need,” Tsitsipas said.
For American Francis Tiafoe, ranked 14th in the world, the Miami Open represents opportunity.
“Winning Miami would be a big feather in my cap, yeah, that would definitely change things for me, yeah, that would get me in the top 10, it would be really ideal, so why not?” Tiafoe said
