Rennae Stubbs has predicted whether or not Jack Draper can win back to back-to-back titles.
The British number one sent a huge statement to his rivals by winning the Indian Wells Masters title.
Draper handed Carlos Alcaraz his first loss in California since 2022 before dismantling Holger Rune in Sunday’s final to lift his first Masters 1000 trophy.
The 23-year-old has little time to celebrate however, as his attentions swiftly turn to the ongoing Miami Open.
Rennae Stubbs predicts if Jack Draper can win Miami Open after Indian Wells success
Jack Draper took just 70 minutes to defeat Holger Rune 6-2, 6-2 to claim the Indian Wells title.
Draper’s success propelled him to a career-high ranking of number seven, just 55 points behind number six Casper Ruud, and just five ahead of him is Novak Djokovic.
Draper is now in Miami ready to try and become the eighth man to win the Indian Wells and Miami, known as the ‘Sunshine Double’, back-to-back, but Rennae Stubbs does not see it happening.
“I don’t see Jack Draper going back to back, I think that’s going to be really, really hard for him,” Stubbs on her self-titled ‘Rennae Stubbs’ podcast.
“Not saying he is not capable but I do think that it is very hard to win the Sunshine double. They are completely different feelings on the court. Not only are they different surfaces, this is a little quicker here in Miami.
“The humidity makes that world of difference to how the ball plays as well. And guess what? It’s a new and different ball. Last week we had Wilson, this week Dunlop.
“We have had the worst wind in Miami the last three days, so that is also a factor. Yes, we had wind at Indian Wells as well, so the players are probably are like ‘this wind’! There’s nothing worse than playing in the wind.”
Rennae Stubbs predicts two different winners at the Miami Open
While Draper won the Indian Wells Masters on the ATP Tour, Mirra Andreeva claimed the title on the WTA Tour.
She beat World number one Aryna Sabalenka to win successive WTA 1000 titles and she has a strong chance of claiming a third.
However, Stubbs does not expect either of the two players to replicate their success in Miami, but the Australian thinks Carlos Alcaraz will come back strong and lift the title.
“I do see two different people winning this tournament,” Stubbs added. “We will see if Sabalenka can come back and back it up here. Can an American do something special on the women’s side, whether it be Jess Pegula or Madison Keys?
“I hope Madison Keys looks at that match and just throws it away. First loss of the year, who cares. Sabalenka got crushed by Rybakina a couple of years ago in Brisbane, same scoreline, and then went on and won the Australian Open. So you can have days like that.
“I hope Madi comes back and has an even better tournament in Miami, because she trains in Florida, so used to the conditions there.
Rybakina break through? I don’t know. I think Alcaraz might be the one. He gets a tremendous amount of support here in Miami.”
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