Miami Open 2019 Slammed for Wild Card Choices

Published 03/19/2019, 11:15 AM EDT

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The Miami Open 2019 is set to begin and already, there is a lot of buzz surrounding it. As it turned out, there were a few surprising choices for the wild card draws. Naturally it led to an outcry on the issue.

Apparently, Canadian tennis sensation, Felix Auger Aliassime has been stuck among the qualifiers. The 18-year old is currently ranked 57 on the ATP circuit but has been on an impressive run of form. He managed to stun Stefanos Tsitsipas in Indian Wells before losing to Yoshihito Nishioka. However, the organisers evidently figured that he was better off in the qualifying draw. He will now face Italian player, Paolo Lorenzi in the next round

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Another unusual name joining Aliassime, is Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Tsonga is on a comeback run after being sidelined with injury for a long time. The Frenchman will be facing Pablo Cuevas for a chance to get into the main draw. Even Reilly Opelka, is also shovelled into the qualifier rounds as he tries to prove himself worthy of reaching the main draw.

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via Imago

Even Mari Osaka, older sister of World Number 1 Naomi, is another name in the qualifiers draw. She will be facing American player Whitney Osuigwe for a chance to be in the main draw. It actually seems strange that a player who is ranked 338 in the world, has been awarded a wild card entry into Miami Open 2019. In fact, there could be accusations of nepotism since her sister is the World Number 1.

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Fans were actually confused as to why players of Aliassime and Opelka’s calibre, are being made to play in the qualifiers. In Miami, there is a 96 player draw with 32 seeds, but players who are ranked around 57 and below are made to qualify. This aspect of Miami Open 2019 has a number of fans confused.

via Imago

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Written by:

Dhruv George

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
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