Miami Preview – With All This Nightlife, Who’s Got Time for Tennis?

As the television show Monty Python would say, “and now for something completely different.”

Both the WTA and ATP tours are whisked away from the dry heat and desert vistas of Indian Wells for the humidity and nightlife of Miami. The glamour and uber-hot parties surrounding the event make it one of the players’ favorite events and in fact some players were tweeting last week of being “so bored” at Indian Wells they couldn’t wait to leave for Florida.

This event loves to promote its glamour and fun almost more than the tennis. I mean what other event would have its 2009 winner pose like a 50′s pinup girl? Or putting it another way, Richard Gasquet would never have met “Pamela” in Indian Wells.

When it was first known as the Lipton International back in 1985, the intention was to make it the fifth “Grand Slam” or at least the fifth most important tournament in the world with regards to prize money and prestige. But several sponsor changes, the fact that the men’s final is now just best of three sets and that it comes right after Indian Wells, Miami and all of the hoopla around it, feels like overkill. I mean if it were so important, wouldn’t CBS broadcast more than just the finals next Sunday?

Probably the biggest story of the event is who isn’t playing, namely Serena Williams, who loves Miami but had to pull out with her ongoing leg injury. Add to the list Maria Sharapova, Dinara Safina, and for the men Juan Martin del Potro and Nikolay Davydenko and you can see that the event is a bit wide open on both sides. But after the chaos of Indian Wells to sit here and predict a winner is futile. In fact, I’m probably not going to pay too much attention to the matches unless a really interesting one pops up in the later rounds.

So until then, here’s another poll to get you going before the matches start.

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