Thrilling Encounters at Miami Open Tennis Tournament

After great games and huge surprises, Miami Open is getting close to the most exciting part of the event.

The very best of tennis players take part in the Miami Open 2015. Great stars like Djokovic, Nadal or Serena Williams guaranteed the top quality performances during the entire event even though the fact that not all of them made it to the finals.

• Djokovic is great favourite to win
• John Isner performs very well
• Many big names got eliminated

As it is common in other sports, it is not always the best ones who reach the final stages of each tournament. Young talents can cause big surprises by showing how gifted they are, and also low ranked players can get lucky in competitions like this.

The greatest surprises were caused by John Isner and Fernando Verdasco

In the beginning of the tournament it was a huge disappointment that Roger Federer, who is ranked as the second best tennis player in the world, will miss the tournament. According to reports by US gambling news,the Swiss player aims to train harder for the upcoming ATP Tour which will be held in Monte Carlo.

Nevertheless, Miami Open was full of astonishing games even though the absence of the legendary player. 29-year-old American competitor, John Isner has caused huge surprise by reaching the quarter-finals. He has defeated Jeremy Chardy and Milos Raonic while showing his incredible mental strength during these two games.

However, the most shocking result was achieved by Rafael Nadal. He is number 3 on the ranking list and was seeded as second for this tournament due to Federer, his arch-rival’s absence. Nadal defeated fellow Spaniard Almagro (6-4; 6-2) in the Second Round but has suffered a painful defeat (4-6; 6-2; 3-6) against also compatriot Fernando Verdasco at the next stage.

Djokovic plays against Ferrer in order to qualify for the semi-finals

Even though some shocking results, 5 of the 8 best seeded players are still in the competition. As we mentioned already, Rafael Nadal was seeded second and has lost in the Third Round. 7th seeded Stan Wawrinka was also knocked out in the Third Round while 5th ranked Milos Raonic was defeated by John Isner.

Two members of the semi-finals are already known: One of them is the Czech Tomas Berdych, who won against Juan Monaco (6-3; 6-4). His opponent will be third seeded Andy Murray, who defeated Austrian Dominic Thiem even though he lost the first set (3-6; 6-4, 6-1).

On the other hand, John Isner will face 4th seeded Kei Nishikori in order to qualify for the semi-finals. The Japanese is the favourite for the clash according to internet sportsbooks as the odds for his success are 1.36 (4/11) while his opponent’s odds are 3.25 (9/4) by Bet365.

However, the most expected game of that day will be played by Novak Djokovic. He is the world’s number 1 tennis player and he will face the Spanish David Ferrer in order to reach the top 4. internet gambling in US believe that the Serbian will win the competition as the odds for this are set at 1.57 (4/7).

Sharapova’s early farewell was shocking at Women’s Singles

Many great names took part in the Women’s Singles as well. Tennis enthusiasts must be familiar with the likes of Maria Sharapova, Caroline Wozniacki or Ana Ivanovic, but these are just a few of the top-class participants.These three women have been seeded as second, fourth and fifth respectively.

There is one thing in common between the three above-mentioned players. They all got eliminated by now even though they were among the favourites. The Russian world-class tennis player Sharapova already lost in the Second Round against her compatriot Gavrilova which meant that the world’s second best had to leave Miami shockingly early.

In addition, Ana Ivanovic, the previous number 1, has only managed to go one more round. She defeated the American Irina Falconi in the Second Round but lost against Lisicki in the next round. The Danish Caroline Wozniacki was defeated by Venus Williams who then also got eliminated in the quarter-finals as Carla Suarez Navarro defeated her.

Serena Williams is the greatest favourite in the women’s competition

Carla Suarez Navarro has qualified for the semi-finals after defeating Venus Williams even though she lost the first set by 6-0. Her opponent will be the German Andrea Petkovic who has won 6-4; 6-2 against Karolina Pliskova in the previous round. Even though one of them will surely play the final, they are both regarded as underdogs for the tournament’s victory.

That is only possible if two world-class will face in the other semi-finals, which is exactly the case right now. The world ranking’s 3rd placed Romanian, Simona Halep had won 6-1, 7-5 against Sloane Stephens and made her way into the top 4. Her opponent will be the world’s number 1, Serena Williams, whose way to the semi-finals has lead through Ivanovic’s defeater Sabine Lisicki.

The American competitor is the biggest candidate for becoming champion according to online sportsbooks in US. The odds for Williams’ triumph are 1.5 (1/2) while those for her Romanian competitor are 5.00 (4/1). However, the semi-final between the world ranking’s first and third placed players is always expected to be an incredible clash.