See below for our daily tennis tips and best bets around the courts for Tuesday March 18 at the ATP and WTA Miami tournaments, including the top tips and players to back in our tennis betting markets!
Yue Yuan v Katerina Siniakova
2.15am
Back Siniakova to Win 2-0 @ $1.95
China’s Yue Yuan and Czech veteran Katerina Siniakova get the Miami Masters women’s first-round action underway.
World No.93 Yuan has been on the slide since reaching the last 16 at the Brisbane International with an upset of Marta Kostyuk, losing seven straight WTA main draw matches. She went down 6-2 6-4 to Dayana Yastremska in the first round at Indian Wells.
Doubles superstar Siniakova, ranked 57th in singles, reached the Round of 32 at Indian Wells via a win over Yulia Putintseva before losing to Karolina Muchova.
Siniakova has not been beyond the third round of a WTA 1000 event since 2018 and will be focusing plenty of energy on her doubles campaign in Miami, but she should have Yuan’s measure.
Varvara Gracheva v Alycia Parks
2.15am
Back Over 21.5 Total Games @ $1.85
World No.65 Varvara Gracheva and 59th-ranked Alycia Parks bring some handy recent form into this first-round encounter at the Miami Masters.
Gracheva came from a set down to beat grand slam winner Petra Kvitova in the first round at Indian Wells, before losing a tight encounter to eventual champion Mirra Andreeva.
She also defeated Peyton Stearns at the ATX Open in late-February.
Park eliminated Anna Kalinskaya at Indian Wells before running into Diana Shnaider in the second round. The American had rolled top-15 powerhouse Shnaider at the Qatar Open last month.
Gracheva made the fourth round of both Sunshine Double events in 2023 – her best WTA 1000 results to date – before dipping out in the first round of both last year.
Parks is winless at Indian Wells and Miami, with her best Masters effort a third-round appearance in Madrid in 2023.
The aggressive Parks is a $1.70 favourite, but there’s nothing between this duo and Gracheva’s steady consistency should ensure a tight contest.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Magda Linette
2.15am
Back Sabalenka to Win 2-1
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Magda Linette square off in the first round of the Miami Masters, the pair’s second clash already this season.
Pavlyuchenkova leads the head-to-head 3-2, but Linette won the last two encounters – at the 2024 Eastbourne International and last month’s Abu Dhabi Open. The latter was evenly poised with Pavlyuchenkova taking the first set before retiring while 4-1 down in the second.
World No.34 Linette has struggled to put together a deep run this season. She beat Peyton Stearns first up at Indian Wells, before going down to big gun Jessica Pegula in the second round.
Fellow 33-year-old Pavlyuchenkova, ranked 47th, has only played one match since retiring against Linette – a convincing defeat to Liudmila Samsonova in Dubai.
Linette reached the fourth round here in 2023, while her best WTA 1000 result was reaching the Wuhan Open quarters late last season. A four-time Masters semi-finalist, Pavlyuchenkova made it to the third round in Miami last year after a five-year absence.
Linette shapes as the clear value option as a $2.25 underdog, given Pavlyuchenkova has not played in over a month.
Petra Kvitova v Sofia Kenin
6.15am
Back Kvitova to Cover the Games Handicap (+4.5) @ $1.80
Former grand slam champions Petra Kvitova and Sofia Kenin lock horns for the fourth time in the Miami Masters’ first round.
Kvitova has a 2-1 advantage in the rivalry after a pair of wins in 2018-19, while Kenin won their last encounter in the 2020 French Open semi-finals.
World No.46 Kenin continues to struggle for consistency, but she produced an excellent run to the Dubai Championships quarter-finals with wins over Donna Vekic, Marta Kostyuk and Jasmine Paolini.
At Indian Wells, the 26-year-old thrashed Maddison Inglis before losing to Daria Kasatkina in three sets.
Kvitova returned from a maternity break with a three-set loss to Jodie Burrage at the ATX Open three weeks go, then went down to Varvara Gracheva in three at Indian Wells.
The Miami Masters champion in her last visit in 2023, 35-year-old Kvitova has eight WTA 1000 titles to her name. Kenin has never been beyond the third round at a Sunshine Double tournament but is a three-time Masters semi-finalist.
While still in the early stages of her comeback, Kvitova has shown enough to suggest this won’t be a mismatch – particularly against the somewhat unreliable Kenin.