Around the grounds: Sudoku, sushi and a golf icon in Miami's stands

MIAMI -- The theme of 2026 Miami Open thus far has been rain, rain and more rain. Friday was no different with numerous matches being pushed back, delayed or halted temporarily because of the scattered showers. 

Ultimately, play did resume consistently in the afternoon, but as a result, notable WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz stars such as Jessica Pegula, Naomi Osaka, Iva Jovic and more will have to wait another night's rest to get their 2026 Miami Open campaign underway.

Still, several players booked their spots in the third round. Here's the best from around the ground in Miami:

Defending Masters champion in the house

There was a notable spectator in attendance for Coco Gauff's three-set win over Elisabetta Cocciaretto. Golfer and five-time major champion Rory McIlroy, who completed the sport's career Slam with a win at the 2025 Masters, sat courtside at Hard Rock Stadium.

Gauff didn't notice him the crowd while playing, but she's familiar with McIlroy.

"No, I'm not, but I do know who he is," said Gauff, who admitted she isn't the biggest golf fan. "That's cool. I didn't notice, but that's pretty cool. I think he's one of the few people I would recognize out of golf. Maybe Nelly Korda, obviously Tiger Woods. There's probably a few -- Jack Nicklaus, is he a golfer too (smiling)?

"There's a few names I recognize, but I'm sure my dad would probably be more enthusiastic, but that's pretty cool."

Bencic's 'puzzling' way to get through delays 

In a snapshot, World No. 12 Belinda Bencic was scheduled to begin play at 10:00 a.m. Her 6-3, 6-2 win over Zeynep Sonmez lasted 69 minutes on court, but she did not finish until around 2:15 p.m. 

With the obvious culprit in the weather, it's safe to say the Swiss was relieved she could finish her match.

"I'm so happy I'm done because I woke up at 5:45 a.m., to the car at 6:15 to come here. 7:00, 8:00 warm up. The court was wet. Then we just warmed up standing on wet court. Went to the court, played few points, went off and so on.

"Of course, sometimes this happens. It's not easy, but I'm happy that I'm done, and I mean, it's 2:20 for a 10:00 match, OK whatever. I'm happy I'm done and ready to play tomorrow. But it was super windy and just weird conditions."

Bencic's delay wasn't as long as some of her fellow players on the WTA Tour, but during longer ones, it might catch you by surprise what she likes to do the most to pass up the time.

"I do sudoku. I try not to be on my phone too much and just try to kind of keep my mind busy still so I'm not overthinking. It's just what I do, kind of a routine," Bencic said of the puzzle game.

Mboko's (sushi) statement

Victoria Mboko made a statement with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Anna Blinkova in her Miami Open second round match, but afterwards, she addressed another statement she made recently...her love of sushi.

On social media a few weeks ago, the Canadian star posted highlights of her time during the Australian swing, including a couple photos of sushi. When asked in her media session Friday in Miami, here's what she had to say:

"The sushi that they had in Australia was probably one of my favorites so I just found myself eating a lot of sushi. I had to just make it a statement that I was eating a lot of sushi in the past month."

Her favorite? Aburi salmon, which is salmon crafted with a flame-seared technique. 

"I like salmon that it's like blow-torched on the top, specifically. I like it a lot," Mboko laughed.

A familiar face across Cirstea's net

It's uncommon to play the same opponent two tournaments consecutively, but three times is rare. That was the case for the experienced Sorana Cirstea, who defeated Linda Noskova 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. The two faced each other at Indian Wells and Dubai in their past two tournaments, where Cirstea lost in the former but won in the latter. 

"It's funny, usually, I don't get this to play the same players three tournaments in a row, but I guess it happened," Cirstea said. "Absolutely, I think the matches both in Dubai and the one helped a lot, but I'm sure she also knew me quite well. Again, different conditions here. The ball is a little bit slower, but the court is faster.

"I actually like a little bit more the conditions here, so I don't know if they suit me better, but overall today, I think I did a better match than Indian Wells was."

Cirstea will next face No. 21 seed Elise Mertens for a spot in the Round of 16.