Youth was served—and did some pretty good serving of its own—in Indian Wells last week. Can the WTA’s Top 10 establishment, which was decimated in the two-woman desert coup launched by Naomi Osaka and Daria Kasatkina, mount a counterattack in Miami? If so, it will start early: Osaka will begin her Key Biscayne campaign against eight-time champion Serena Williams. Here’s a look at how that battle of the ages, and the rest of the women’s draw, may play out.
WOMEN'S DRAW: Click here
The last time we saw Simona Halep, she was walking, head down, off the stadium court at Indian Wells after being handed a second-set bagel by Osaka. The world No. 1 came out flat and never roused herself; finding a balance between staying calm, but not too calm, remains a challenge for her. She’ll need to find that balance in this well-stocked quarter: Halep’s road could take her through Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round, Madison Keys or Anastasija Sevastova in the fourth, and Karolina Pliskova, Julia Goerges, or Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarters.
First-round match to watch: Victoria Azarenka vs. CiCi Bellis
Wild card to watch: Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Player of Interest: Madison Keys. Before last week, Osaka was a sort of Maddy II: They both trained in Florida, they hit big, and their games both went through wild ups and downs. But the 23-year-old Keys was always a step or two ahead in the developmental process. Now that Osaka has made her leap in Indian Wells, how will Keys, who lost early there, react?
Semifinalist: Halep
CiCi Bellis is one of Tennis Channel's teens on the rise: