Miami Open suffers another blow after cancelling matches as big names pull out | Tennis | Sport

It’s been a difficult few days for organisers of the Miami Open. Rain has wreaked havoc on the schedule, first postponing a whole day of qualifying and now affecting the main draw. There were 37 matches set to be played on Wednesday, day one of the ATP event and day two for the WTA. Several were cancelled for the day as the rain decimated the schedule. And by the end of the night, organisers confirmed that all sessions were cancelled, with all matches to be rescheduled.

The tournament has also been hit by multiple withdrawals, including Novak Djokovic and Emma Raducanu, who have pulled out in recent days. And another big name has now announced that they will not take to the court in Miami, as No. 4 seed Lorenzo Musetti is out of the tournament, before it has even begun.

Musetti is still on the comeback trail following a brutal mid-match injury retirement at the Australian Open. The Italian started the season on a high, finishing runner-up in Hong Kong. He then reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne and led Djokovic by two-sets-to-love before picking up a leg injury and retiring suddenly in the third set.

The world No. 5 made his return in Indian Wells earlier this month but was clearly out of rhythm, losing his opening match to Fabian Marozsan. Musetti then headed to Miami, where he had every intention of continuing his comeback and even took part in pre-tournament media day. But he has now withdrawn, citing an arm injury.

Ahead of the Miami Open, Musetti told ATP Media that he was “feeling well”. The No. 4 seed also opened up on his brutal Aussie Open retirement. “I started pretty well, was playing probably my best tennis, and of course, it was a pity that Australia ended up like that,” he said.

“Of course, it was a tough month for me after Australia, because I was struggling a little bit to come back. I think the recovery process has been long and not easy to come back after a month of rehabilitation and from staying out of the rhythm of the matches, of the routine life as a professional tennis player. So, in Indian Wells, it didn’t go as I wanted, but I knew it was not easy to find the perfect shape. But hopefully here, I’m feeling that every day, I’m getting closer to my best shape.”

Musetti has never been beyond the fourth round in Miami, but had no expectations this year and simply hoped to find some confidence on the court again. “I have no expectation, I just want to feel well, and of course, in the past years I felt that here in Miami, I had the potential to do better than my results are speaking,” he explained.

“Of course, I feel that now I will try to play every match as my first one because I think definitely the one-month stop, it was something that was breaking me a little bit form the good rhythm that I had in Australia. So I have no expectation, I just want to enjoy and find again the right rhythm and hopefully do as many matches as possible.

“For me, the most challenging thing is to rebuild what I was doing correct in Australia for example. When you enter in that kind of flow state of mind, it’s not easy to rebuild that kind of flow. So I think it’s a process that maybe in one match, one little detail can turn around all the negative vibes and not really comfortable feelings when you go back on court. So hopefully I will have that moment here in Miami, to turn around a little bit in the situation.”

Unfortunately, Musetti will have to wait for that moment. The 24-year-old is now expected to be sidelined until the Monte-Carlo Masters in April, where he is defending 650 ranking points after reaching the final in 2025, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz.

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