In retrospect, the month of March seems like a grind with two WTA 1000 events, well more than 2,200 miles separating them in very different climates and little time to get adjusted.
But here we are. This year’s Sunshine Double is behind us.
In Miami, Petra Kvitova was a surprise champion. Nearly five years had passed since she won a tournament of this magnitude.
Miami Open reaction:
“I love the game,” she said afterward. “I think is the motivation to do something better, and because I had a lot of ups, that’s always been the motivation to have them again.”
True, Kvitova has had plenty of high points in her career. But what were her prospects entering Miami? We answer that — and more — as we wrap up a memorable month of tennis.
If someone had asked you about Petra Kvitova’s prospects of not just winning, but making a deep run, before the Miami Open started, what would you have said?
Jason Juzwiak: I would have said “hope springs eternal,” but I don’t think I would have meant it. I’m a huge proponent of Kvitova’s game being successful on all surfaces, not just indoors or at Wimbledon. There’s something about the Sunshine Double that had always bemused her. She never had made a semifinal at either Indian Wells or Miami before this year, and her noted dislike of humid conditions seemed to entirely rule out Miami. And yet, her best form can appear without warning, and once again, she demonstrated it when I didn’t quite expect it.
Kevin Fischer: In this sport, you have to learn to expect the unexpected. In Kvitova’s previous 24 appearances across the Sunshine Double, she had not advanced beyond the quarterfinals. Now with 30 career titles to her credit, including nine WTA 1000 titles, it would not be a total surprise to see Kvitova on finals weekend.
Greg Garber: Before the BNP Paribas Open I would have said no chance. The 33-year-old Kvitova has never liked the conditions at Indian Wells — and seemed to dislike them in Miami even more. But she advanced to the quarterfinals in the desert, taking Maria Sakkari to three sets. In Miami, with a far-faster court, her serve and forehand came alive. Kvitova doused a red-hot Sorana Cirstea in the semifinals and handled Rybakina nicely in the final, ending her 13-match win streak. No one saw it coming, but the elements for a deep run were certainly there.
Alex Macpherson: I wouldn’t…