March 28, 2024

Open Court

MORE TENNIS THAN YOU'LL EVER NEED

Darkness means mid-match move for Wickmayer

MIAMI GARDENS – The first day of qualifying at the Miami Open Monday was a long one.

Matches started at 10 a.m.

And the last one, in which Laura Siegemund defeated Sorana Cirstea after being broken twice when serving for the match in the third set – ended nearly 12 hours later.

But in the meantime, the length of matches made for some logistical issues on site, on the first day.

It turns out that Courts 3 and 4 don’t have lights.

The Siegemund-Cirstea match was scheduled on Court 4 – it ended up on Court 9.

And, shortly after 7 p.m., they had to move the Yanina Wickmayer vs. Veronika Kudermetova encounter from Court 3 over to the Grandstand.

darkness

It wasn’t that dark – yet. Although the gloomy skies that later would bring rain for the next 24 hours made it darker than it might be on a clear night.

But Wickmayer had just finished the first set. So it was a logical time.

There was quite a bit of confusion, though. Wickmayer marched right off with her gear as Kudermetova sat there. And then the linespeople had to gather up all the balls and whatever else was needed and move it over.

Wickmayer wasn’t the least bit perturbed, it seems. She finished out the match 6-4, 6-2. If the whole thing was a little distracting, it’s no surprise that the vastly more experienced Wickmayer handled it like an old pro.

Darkness – but not too dark

It wasn’t too dark for practice, as Ivan Dodig and Edouard Roger-Vasselin immediately took over the court and hit some serves.

Wickmayer – Kudermetova and Siegemund – Cirstea were the fifth matches scheduled on their courts. Even with the 10 a.m. start, (and the serve clock) that was ambitious.

On Wednesday, with six qualifying matches on those two courts, there are only three per court.

Hopefully, no marathons; Siegemund v Cirstea clocked in at three hours, one minute and 54 seconds.

Pliskova had a tough win in the first round of qualifying, beating Ana Bogdan 7-5 in the third. (Stephanie Myles/Tennis.Life)

Wickmayer will meet Kristyna Pliskova for a spot in the women’s singles main draw. The Belgian will be on Court 3 again on Wednesday – but this time, second match on.

About Post Author