(Almost) full house so far for Miami Open

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The Miami Open released its entry lists Tuesday.

And, as is typical with these preliminary entry lists, it’s pretty much a full house.

The only names missing among the top 75 on the men’s side are the injured Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori.

The only WTA player not expected to make the date, on first instance, is the MIA Bianca Andreescu (pardon the pun).

So far, Andreescu hasn’t entered anything through the French Open. But of course the deadlines are still a ways away.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic’s name does sit atop the men’s entry list, as it does at Indian Wells.

But the entry rules to get into the U.S. (even if it’s the wild frontier in Florida proper) mean that Djokovic, unvaccinated, has few options to cross the American border. At least the way things stand at the moment.

The man himself said during a press conference in Dubai that he doesn’t expect to be at Indian Wells, which was the specific question asked.

“As of today, not. I can’t go — can’t enter United States. As of today I’m not able to play. But let’s see what happens. I mean, maybe things change in the next few weeks,” he said in his press conference.

Substitutes at the ready

If Djokovic can’t make the date, the next player into the main draw would be Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina.

Next after Cerundolo would be Kamil Majchrzak of Poland then another Argentine, Sebastian Baez.

On the women’s side, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is on the entry list. But the Russian announced on social media that she was going to miss about 10 weeks (in addition to the three tournaments she has missed this month) to tend to a knee problem.

Her replacement in the main draw would be Caroline Garcia of France. Next in after Garcia would be Zheng Qinwen of China, followed by Misaki Doi of Japan.

A lot of protected rankings used

A number of players on both sides will be using their protected rankings to play Miami.

On the women’s side, Laura Siegemund (No. 57) is the only one in the main draw. But there will be a number in the qualifying including Kirsten Flipkens (No. 97), Tatjana Maria (No. 100) and Daria Saville (No. 104) and Elisabetta Cocciaretto (No. 113).

Siegemund, who hasn’t played since the Olympics, is returning in doubles at Indian Wells with Vera Zvonareva, but isn’t playing singles there.

On the men’s side French veterans Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (No. 68) and Gilles Simon (No. 69) – who as it happens, played each each other in the first round of the Marseille event last week – are using their PRs.

Others entered with their protected rankings are Borna Coric (No. 27) and Aljaz Bedene (No. 75).

Notably, Coric has entered a number of tournaments in 2022, only to withdraw later. He had shoulder surgery last May, and still hasn’t returned to action.

Bedene hasn’t played since losing in the first round of the Umag tournament last July.

Both also have entered Indian Wells on their protected rankings, along with Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevas.

Notably, Cuevas is not entered in Miami with his protected ranking, but with his actual ranking of No. 106. So he may be choosing to play the qualifying there.

Another note: Tsonga, who had been entered in Indian Wells with that ranking, has pulled out of the desert half of the Sunshine Double.

He has played just one of the American winter events since 2017; that was the 2019 Miami Open.

The case of Sofia Kenin

Before the deadline, Sofia Kenin had been entered with her protected ranking of No. 4 for a time.

Kenin, born and raised a long Hail Mary pass away from the Hard Rock Stadium, is no longer entered with that ranking, but with her current ranking of No. 89.

The same is true at Indian Wells, where she is in at No. 95.

Naomi Osaka, who is in a similar situation, has already officially been granted wild cards for both tournaments.

That’s not surprising, not only because IMG, the agency that represents her, owns the Miami Open as well.

(Four out of the main draw in Miami, with a month to go, Osaka may well get in on her own. But she will be unseeded in either case).

Kenin is not an IMG client. Interestingly, she is not entered in the qualifying of either event (although the Miami qualifying list is not yet closed). So clearly she must be expecting wild cards. It’s hard to fathom she would skip both events.

Speaking of wild cards …

There are eight women’s wild cards into the main draw; the only one announced so far is Osaka.

The men’s draw includes only five wild cards.

Two of those have been attributed: Andy Murray and Nick Kyrgios.

You’d expect, as is typical, that the bulk of the free passes will go to tournament owner IMG’s clients.

Anyone for doubles?

The deadline hasn’t yet passed. But a number of teams have already entered the tournament.

With regular partner Pierre-Hugues Herbert limited by the same restrictions Djokovic is dealing with, Nicolas Mahut will once again team up with another Frenchman, Fabrice Martin.

Karen Khachanov, who often plays with Andrey Rublev, is pairing up with Ilya Ivashka of Belarus for both Indian Wells and Miami.

(Rublev is playing with Aslan Karatsev at Indian Wells).

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Feliciano Lopez, who had a successful American swing debut together in Acapulco Monday, plan to play Miami together as well.

There are also three wild-card slots available for both the men and women.

On the women’s side, there is a bit of musical chairs at both big events.

It appears that the successful Japanese team of Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama have – as the expression goes – agreed to see other people.

(This is really deep-dive stuff, for diehards only).

Shibahara has played with Zhang Shuai the last few weeks. But Shuai and Samantha Stosur are reuniting for Indian Wells and Miami

Shibahara will play them with American Asia Muhammad.

Aoyama will play both with Aleksandra Krunic.

Kveta Peschke – immortal at 46 – returns to make her 2022 debut in the Sunshine Double, paired with Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia. She has a protected ranking of No. 17.

Peschke hasn’t played since Indian Wells last October – i.e., the last tournament of any size in the U.S.

Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys, and Ana Konjuh and Belinda Bencic, also are entered in Miami.