Miami Open: Why are top seeds all out?

• The Miami Open is now a contest of little-known seeded players
• Most of the top seeds such as Maria Sakkari, Angelique Kerber, Madison Keys, Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez are out
• However, Naomi Osaka shows some promising days in the game after sending Kerber home to advance to round of 16

The Miami Open 2022 is one interesting roll in tennis that has left fans wondering what is happening to top seeds.

None of the big-seeded names have made it past the qualifying round of four.

The tournament held in Florida is interestingly, casting a new light on ‘newcomers’ while the old geek fails to advance.

WHO ARE THE TOP SEEDS ALREADY OUT OF MIAMI OPEN?

Here are the big names that have made it on the list of fallen top seeds in the Miami Open now in the round of 16.

EMMA RADUCANU

Emma Raducanu US Open 2021. Photo/Sky Sports

Emma Raducanu seeded 11th, lost in the second round despite earning a bye in the first round.

Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic defeated the 19-year-old 6-3, 4-6, 5-7, and she still only has two wins from her maiden full WTA season.

All eyes remain on the British teen especially after winning the US Open 2021. However, she hasn’t replicated such performance in any other match since then.

Although she won the US Open in September, Raducanu has had difficulty establishing herself on the WTA Tour.

Daniela Hantuchova, a former world No. 10 player, discusses her recent loss against Katerina Siniakova in the second round of the Miami Open.

That was a tough one for Emma. I think it is going to hurt big time because of the chances she had,” the Amazon Prime analyst said.

Hantuchova says Raducanu played well and also demonstrated how much of a fighter she is.  The 19-year-old teen according to the former world No. 1 is not afraid of battling it out with the big names.

And, everyone wants to beat her, Hantuchov tells Tennis 365 adding “everyone is trying to figure out how to play against her. All the locker room respect she had after the US Open is now kind of going away which is a shame.”

“It is going to be important now for Emma to regroup, rethink what she has to change and get out there on the practice court. There is no other way around it. Just keep putting the hard work in.”

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ

Leylah Fernandez. Photo/Tennisnet

The 18th seeded Leylah Fernandez, was eliminated after losing to Karolina Muchova in the round of 64.

Fernandez was Raducanu’s opponent in the US Open final 2021 at Flushing Meadows.

The 19-year-old teen has also a massive following as fans look out for more wins since the US Open finals in September.

Unlike Raducanu, the Canadian successfully defended her Monterrey Open title early this month. She beat Osorio Serrano in the finals.

MARIA SAKKARI

Maria Sakkari at Indian Wells. Photo/Eurosport

There will be no repeat performance for Maria Sakkari, who was knocked out by Swiatek in the BNP Paribas Open final.

The Greek lost to Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round after receiving a bye in the first round.

Surprisingly, she reached her highest level in tennis a fortnight ago when she played against Swiatek at the Indian Wells finals.

Her rise in tennis since 2021 stirred a lot of interest, and all people wanted to see was her going against the norm.

The Indian Wells finals was her first WTA 1000 Masters event which she floored Paula Badosa to face Swiatek.

ANGELIQUE KERBER

The German tennis player did not have it easy at the Miami Open. She was beaten 6-2 6-3 by Naomi Osaka and bid goodbye to the tournament.

Osaka is upbeat that after underperforming for a while, she is back with a bang to reclaim her seat.

While it’s a long shot, she still can do it as she has done it before.

MADISON KEYS

Madison Keys was beaten by world number 51 Anhelina Kalinina in the second round of the US Open.

To get to the Miami Open quarterfinals, the Ukrainian had to put aside the war-torn upheaval at home and win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The Americana has shown a mixed bag of results thus far. This season, she has made a name for herself by claiming victory in Adelaide.

Keys also managed to get to the Australian Open semi-finals, as well as the quarterfinals at Indian Wells.

In both cases, she was defeated by Ash Barty and Iga Swiatek, respectively.

Keys, on the other hand, was eliminated in the first round of both the Guadalajara and the Monterrey tournaments in Mexico.

Other top seeds, like Elina Svitolina, and Anett Kontaveit, are already out of the tournament.