Three weeks into this month of North American tennis, the Tennis View roundtable reconvenes to discuss the state of things heading into the later stages of the Sony Open. With buzz-worthy stories coming from both sides of the event, Miami has been an interesting follow-up to Indian Wells. Stay tuned to hear what the Tennis View crew has to say:

David Kane: Going from the smooth, off-hours Middle Eastern swing, this double duty of two fortnights has never felt more exhausting. What are our impressions of Miami heading into the final stretch? How does it compare to Indian Wells?

Victoria Chiesa: The action so far in Miami has been a stark contrast to the wackiness that we saw in Indian Wells. The Sony Open got off to a bit of a rough start with the withdrawals of Victoria Azarenka, Juan Martin del Potro and Simona Halep, but the other big names have pretty much lived up to their billing so far. Even those who haven’t shown their best have made Jimmy V proud, and done well to “survive and advance.”

Yesh Ginsburg: The sheer dominance of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal so far has been astounding. Nadal was leaving us concerned after seeming vulnerable the past few weeks, while Federer looked a step off all of last year. Both have dominated their competition so far, including one absolutely blistering victory by each over a tough opponent. The way Rafa beat down Istomin and Federer obliterated Gasquet made it feel like this was 2008, not 2014.

Nick Nemeroff: Indian Wells and Miami have been overwhelmingly underwhelming. As Yesh has mentioned, Federer and Nadal have looked utterly dominant. While their matches were blowouts, the quality of play from both men provided for wonderful spectacles. Otherwise, the rest of the tournament has been extremely bland. The best match so far took place on the Grandstand between Kei Nishikori and David Ferrer, with the Japanese star saving four match points in a three-hour epic. On the women’s side, I was really surprised at how much Serena struggled against Yaroslava Shvedova and Caroline Garcia, but she seems to have gotten herself together. Ana Ivanovic getting double-bageled in the final two sets against Petra Kvitova was pretty shocking.

DK: Speaking of domination, how’s about that Caroline Wozniacki? Just when she appeared to have finally hit rock bottom, she comes to Miami partying like it’s 2011. Has she changed anything? Not really; dad Piotr is as present as ever, but it hasn’t seemed to matter through two all-American beatdowns. Granted, Wozniacki had quite a bit of help from a bemused Sloane Stephens in one of them, but Caro is playing - dare I say it? - with a moon(ball)-man suit full of “konfidence.”

VC: For someone who spent so long trying to convince us that she was a ray of sunshine, Darth Caroline has been killing it in Key Biscayne. If only she knew the power of the Dark Side earlier. A week ago, clad in yellow, Wozniacki loses 10 consecutive games in a listless loss to Jelena Jankovic. This week, decked out in black, she’s reopened the Danish bakery. After splitting 6-1 sets with Miami crowd favorite Monica Puig in the opening round, Wozniacki has been on a roll, winning her next five sets 6-3, 6-1, 6-0, 6-0, 6-1. I’m eager to see what she can do in today’s match against Li, who’s a big step up from the players she’s seen so far. The force is back with Caroline, but she is not a Jedi yet.

YG: Honestly, it’s very refreshing to see Wozniacki getting some of her moxie back. She used to just will her opponents off the court, being impossible to hit through and win points off. When she’s playing with confidence, her game can beat just about anyone. If she can keep her attitude in the right direction, there is little reason that she can’t get back to the top of the women’s game very soon.

DK: While Wozniacki has looked in full flight, Sloane Stephens looked dazed and confused for much of their third-round encounter. At one point, she stood flat-footed as the Dane’s return of serve whizzed (to the extent that her shots can “whiz”) past her. In Indian Wells, it seemed impossible to understand a player like Jankovic winning 10 games in a row against Wozniacki. Was this more or less of a shock?

VC: If you’re wondering why there’s a sizable segment of the population that doesn’t believe in Stephens, look no further than this match. She has all the physical gifts, but her attitude is such an albatross. She was listless and disinterested at best. For someone who’s been praised for “showing up” at the big events, she looked like she’d rather be anywhere else than playing on Stadium Court at arguably the second-biggest event in the United States.

YG: We have to remember that Stephens is all of 21 years old and that, for all of her impressive showings in bigger events, she has a grand total of one career title (at the ITF, not professional, level) under her belt. She is talented, which is obvious to anyone who watches her play. But I think we’ve seen big performances from her in fits and starts, which has caused us to expect far too much of her. She still has never reached a WTA-level final or shown real consistency from event to event over the course of her career. With her talent, that could all change quickly. But we treat her too much like a struggling champion and less like the up-and-comer waiting to fully break through that she is.

DK: Like it or not, when you’re the youngest American with the best result (I can’t use the plural just yet), the press is going to focus on you. Whether Stephens adjusts to the attention remains to be seen. But one player thoroughly used to the attention is Venus Williams, who followed up her Dubai triumph with perhaps the best match of the year against Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova. Notoriously shaky when it comes to closing out tight matches, Cibulkova was looking to make the quarterfinals after two years of soul-crushing fourth-round losses. Venus’ ability to keep up with one of the hottest players of 2014 was impressive, but under the lights, against a partisan crowd and an inspired veteran, the Slovak came up with the shots in a rare display of mental fortitude in the end.

VC: She successfully lobbed Venus twice. If that doesn’t give you insight into how well Dominika Cibulkova played Sunday night…

DK: We tease because we too are rarely “this tall to ride.” But most of it comes from the glee that we were even able to watch the match in the first place. The broadcasting disparity between men’s and women’s matches has never felt more pronounced at this supposed “fifth Slam.” When Tennis Channel has to strike last-minute deals to produce a Venus Williams match against Casey Dellacqua, something stinks in the state of Florida.

VC: The same thing happens every year in regards to the number of men’s matches shown compared to women’s matches in Miami. For whatever reason, the WTA is either unwilling, unable or both to come to an agreement to bring the fans the amount of tennis they deserve from an event of this magnitude. I never thought I’d see the day where I could watch Joao Sousa vs. Pablo Carreno-Busta, but not Maria Sharapova.

Women’s matches that have not been streamed this tournament include: Varvara Lepchenko d. Jelena Jankovic, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(2) and Ajla Tomljanovic, 6-4 6-7(4) 7-6(2), Elina Svitolina d. Eugenie Bouchard 1-6, 6-1, 6-2, Agnieszka Radwanska d. Svitolina 76(5) 57 62. When you can’t watch an American come through back-to-back third-set tiebreaks or a battle of young up-and-comers, something isn’t right.

The scheduling also leaves a lot to be desired. Yes, Alexandr Dolgopolov has had a great March, but does his match against lucky loser Dusan Lajovic merit the Grandstand when world No. 2 and Australian Open champion Li Na plays un-televised on Court 1?

YG: The best women in the world, at a top-level tournament, deserve to be watched. This is a problem every year at a lot of joint tournaments. ESPN has cameras on all 3 main courts all day and streams them on ESPN3.com, but they were turned off for the women’s matches. There is literally no reason they aren’t being utilized. It’s a major flaw in whatever TV contracts are going on here, and it shouldn’t be difficult at all to fix.

NN: I think any time ESPN, Tennis Channel, etc. televise a tournament where both men and women are playing, they should do their best to give equal air time to both. It is the right and necessary thing to do. An increasing amount of tournaments have made equality an integral part of their events, and it would be nice to see televised coverage head in the same direction.

YG: I disagree with Nick on that point. The networks have a right to show whatever they think will draw the most viewers. It’s not their job to make tennis accessible. Instead, it’s their job to show tennis that they think people will watch. But I do think that the tournament, if it wants to be a true joint tournament, is obligated to get a guaranteed amount or quality of air time for its WTA matches. And there’s no reason that the WTA can’t try to ensure better TV contracts for their half of these tournaments.

VC: While we’ve been able to have our choice of ATP players to watch in Miami, there’s been one name that’s been notably absent. Juan Martin del Potro withdrew from the event early in the first week and underwent surgery on his left wrist on Monday. The journey back will be a long one for Juan Martin again, and there’s a chance we won’t be seeing him again until 2015. He’ll turn 26 in September, so what does another surgery mean for the Argentine?

NN: The news is less than good for Del Potro, especially considering the inroads he made in 2013 which included a Wimbledon semifinal, a Masters 1000 final, and four 500-level titles. It’ll be extremely tough for him to pick up the momentum he built up last season if he ends up being out for the rest of 2014. Starting over is going to be an uphill battle emotionally and physically. Del Potro’s road back will also be made tougher with the rise of Stanislas Wawrinka, yet another top player who he is going to have to handle if he wants to win the biggest tournaments. Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer don’t appear to be going away anytime soon either. And with guys like Ernests Gulbis, Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori, and Grigor Dimitrov on the rise, he’ll be facing ever more formidable opposition. And I would be remiss not to mention that Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray all still play tennis.

YG: This tournament feels like 2010 all over again, doesn’t it? The “Big 4” aren’t losing, and Del Potro is missing another extended period with a wrist injury. I think we have all been hoping that his 2009 US Open self will reappear for the last three years now. Maybe that’s an unfair expectation from Del Potro, and maybe this will disabuse us of that hope. With all due respect to David Ferrer, the Argentine was still the biggest threat to the top players out there and will be sorely missed, even if we shouldn’t have been expecting him to dominate the tour. He will come back, though, and still will have the most feared forehand in the world. This surgery hurt his serve, which still will be dominant. It’s awful for him to miss this much time, obviously, and we wish him the best in his recovery. But 26 isn’t so old anymore. He should still have good chances to compete and make deep runs in Slams when he comes back.

DK: Del Potro would be disappointing if he wasn’t so tragic. He looked to have hit another peak when he pushed Djokovic to the limit at Wimbledon, only to have to take time off for more surgery to his wrist. Unlike last time, there were whispers about the Argentine’s health, but it wasn’t until Indian Wells and Miami that the rumors appear to have been true. Perhaps it was wishful thinking, but someone with Del Potro’s level of talent shouldn’t ever be playing through an injury like one that nearly ended his career in 2010. A lot of ATP narratives tend to ask questions: “Could you imagine [insert Big 4 player’s] monstrous success?” For a Del Potro, he looks more and more like he’s falling into a different category: the “What If?”

VC: I was expecting Del Potro to make a legitimate charge at the No. 1 ranking following his win at the US Open. Players underachieve for a variety of reasons, but can you really call it that when it’s the player’s body, not his mind or game, that won’t hold up?

DK: Him and Dinara Safina, right, Victoria? But any final thoughts as we had into the finals weekend?

NN: Although I think a Berdych-Nadal semifinal is likely, I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing a Nadal-Dolgopolov semifinal rematch. And for that matter, I’m sure the Miami crowd wouldn’t mind having to watch a Djokovic-Federer grudge match. At this point, I would be shocked if Nadal doesn’t reach the final, and I think the only player capable of beating him right now is Djokovic. So my pick for the men is either Nadal or Djokovic. If someone forced me to pick right now, I’d say Nadal would win, but with Nadal and Djokovic anything can happen.  

I expect Serena to make quick work of Sharapova in the semifinals, and I wouldn’t be surprised if any of Li, Cibulkova or Radwanska ends up facing Serena in the final. But you never know, Caroline Wozniacki may be for real once again. Regardless, I usually expect Serena to win every match she plays, and I’m not deviating from that belief in Miami unless something extremely bizarre happens.

VC: I had Serena beating Jelena Jankovic in the final, so that’s how good I am at this thing. Cibulkova could break into the top 10 if she beats Radwanska tomorrow, but I can’t help but think that we’re going to end up with a Serena-Li final. Sharapova’s done well to scrape through the draw to get to the semis, but Serena looked dialed in for the first time this tournament against Kerber, and I expect that to continue.

As far as the men go, Nadal and Federer played for the first time 10 years ago at this tournament. I feel like the universe is going to give us another installment in this year’s final.

YG: I’m excited for Djokovic-Murray, even if Andy might not be back to his old self yet. A Nadal-Dolgopolov rematch looks like it will be amazing, both based on how they are playing and what happened in Indian Wells. I would not at all be surprised to see Federer win the tournament with the form he is in, unless he meets Nadal in the final. Honestly, it’s going to be a fun last few days.

On the women’s side, Serena is being Serena and should be tough for anyone to beat. I don’t know how much more there is to say on that issue. It will be fun to see who can get to the final and just how far Wozniacki can go, but anyone but Serena coming away with this title will be quite a surprise.

DK: Indian Wells was a bit of a wacky tournament from start to finish, where Miami has been a return to status quo on both sides. The big names look to be playing their best tennis, and we may get an exciting match or two out of what’s to come. It’s hard to bet against Serena at one of her favorite tournaments and against one of her favorite opponents.

As for the men’s event, it seems like more of a toss-up, particularly with Murray’s steady improvement. I’m hoping for an exciting end to what has otherwise been a “business as usual” Sony Open.