After an intense few weeks of cross-country competition in the United States, the tour will move to Europe for the most part for the clay swing.
With that, our tennis contributors unveil what's on their mind in the latest edition of Racket Response.
Rob Bartlett, ESPN UK: Andy Murray has always been a fighter, and his approach to ending his seven-match losing run against Novak Djokovic after Sunday's 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-0 defeat in the Miami Open final is typical of his character. The British No. 1 plans to study his three contests this year against the world's top player to find out where he is going wrong. "There have been some tough matches -- ones where my game has been there, but not [for] long enough to get a win," Murray said. "I need to look at why that is." Murray's eighth and last win in 26 matches against Djokovic came in the 2013 Wimbledon final, but he feels he is getting closer to another victory. Murray said: "Last year I wasn't where I wanted to be, so it's this year's three losses which are the ones I need to look at. Novak went through a period when he never won against Rafael Nadal in a final, but then won six or seven times in row. Roger Federer went through a period of not having won against Rafa on clay."
Carl Bialik, FiveThirtyEight.com: The tougher the opponent, the harder she is to beat. That axiom is backed by common sense and data -- and obliterated by the precedent-obliterating force that is Serena Williams, eight-time Miami champion. The tournament was her career in a nutshell. Williams was outplayed by Sabine Lisicki, who was ranked 21th in the world and entered their meeting 0-10 in her career against top-five players on hard courts, yet escaped that match. Then Williams won slightly more comfortably against No. 3 Simona Halep, before crushing No. 12 Carla Suarez Navarro in the final, 6-2, 6-0. This is Serena being Serena. Since the start of 2012, she has won an excellent 92 percent of her matches against opponents ranked outside the top 20 -- and an incredible 93 percent of her matches against the top 20. Against the best, she plays her best.
Greg Garber, ESPN.com: I choose to take the optimistic view. I believe Andy Murray may have finally extricated himself from the bad place he's been dwelling since winning the tournament of his life, Wimbledon in 2013. Yes, he lost to Novak Djokovic in Sunday's Miami final and, well, it's difficult to see past that 6-0 third set. But ... I like the way he fought in that first set and the second, too. He showed flashes of his old, semi-aggressive successful self. This, after losing to Djokovic a few weeks ago, 6-2, 6-3 in the Indian Wells semifinals. Last year was effectively a disaster; Murray did not respond well after offseason back surgery and coped poorly with the loss of Ivan Lendl. There was a nice flurry in the fall, with three titles, but this seems more tangible. Perhaps Murray will be in form to challenge Djokovic for this year's Wimbledon crown.
Gustavo Goitía, ESPN Deportes: Fifteen years ago Tuesday, Chile and Argentina wrote a sad page in Davis Cup history in what became known as "the chair-throwing series." Their meeting was supposed to put the winner in a deciding rubber against Morocco for promotion to the World Group, but it lasted less than one day and ended in shame, with both teams kicked out of the competition.
Action had started in Santiago with a predictable victory by former world No. 1 Marcelo Rios over Hernan Gumy in front of a packed Parque O'Higgins stadium, where nearly 12,000 Chileans clearly outnumbered the few brave Argentine fans who had ventured across the Andes to support their players.
In the second matchup of the day, tension mounted as Argentine Mariano Zabaleta took a lead against Nicolas Massu. By the moment Zabaleta was up 2-1 in sets and 3-1 in the fourth, Massu had already lost four points because of insults and objects thrown by the home crowd, among which sat soccer hooligans who were supposedly trying to avenge a 4-1 drubbing by Argentina a couple of weeks earlier in World Cup qualifying action.
The point of no return came when Zabaleta pushed a ball boy, who had just hidden a stone thrown from the stands, aimed at the same Zabaleta. For several minutes, coins, bottles and chairs were tossed onto the court and toward Argentine fans. The Argentine players ran for cover and several fans were injured, among them Zabaleta's father, who suffered a head injury that required 18 stitches.
The Argentine team decided there were no guarantees to resume play, even after match officials said the series would continue, but behind closed doors. The ITF finally awarded Chile a 5-0 victory, but at the same time, banned it from playing at home for the next three years and ruled it should default its tie against Morocco.
Matt Wilansky: An interesting debate came up during the Miami Open women's final: Which world No. 1, Serena Williams or Novak Djokovic, will have a more dominant campaign when all is said and done this season? As it stands now, Djokovic has the slight nod since he swept the early season trifecta: the Aussie Open, Indian Wells and Miami. Serena snared two of three, pulling out of the Indian Wells semifinals against Simona Halep with knee tendinitis. But the onset of the clay-court season is upon us, and this is where Serena has an advantage. Not because Djokovic isn't adept at dirt tennis, but because he has to compete against Rafael Nadal, the greatest clay-courter in the history of this game. So if Serena produces better results than Djokovic for the next month and a half, it comes down to the grass- and hard-court seasons, in which case I utterly have no clue who will fare better. Perhaps they'll both be so burnt that Andy Murray emerges as the player of the year.