Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff are among the women’s stars eyeing the top prize at the Miami Open this week, having just taken on Indian Wells.
Mirra Andreeva can win the Sunshine Double at the Miami Open, having just beaten Sabalenka in the Indian Wells final.
Coco Gauff knew she wasn’t at her best at Indian Wells, where the WTA number three suffered a round of 16 exit to Belinda Bencic.
She is once again the third seed at the Miami Open, where she takes on fellow American Sofia Kenin in her opening match.
Kenin has already picked up a win in Miami, defeating Petra Kvitova to set up a second round meeting with Gauff.
Kim Clijsters wants to face Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff to understand their ability
It is the current world number three and indeed world number one Sabalenka that four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters would love to face on the court.
Asked on The Sit-Down podcast for her thoughts on the current women’s scene and what she thinks when watching the likes of Sabalenka, Gauff and Iga Swiatek, she said: “It’s always been hard for me to kind of… I want to play against somebody so that I can really understand, like playing against somebody like Sabalenka, like, how hard does she hit the ball?
“I want to be on the other side of the net of her and feel that. What is that like? Or how fast does Coco move, or those kind of things. How well does she defend?
“It looks impressive, super impressive. But then… I can translate it verbally the best if I can see what it feels like on the court.”
Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Kim Clijsters Grand Slam final records
Both Sabalenka and Gauff have followed in the footsteps of Clijsters by winning at least one Grand Slam title, with the duo hoping they haven’t finished in that regard.
The Belarusian has three to her name so far, while the American has one, which incidentally came against Sabalenka.
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All three players meanwhile know how it feels to lose a Grand Slam final, with Clijsters having been on the receiving end of four such defeats.
Sabalenka meanwhile has lost on two occasions, most recently to Madison Keys in January’s Australian Open, with Gauff having lost one Grand Slam final to date.
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