Timea Bacsinszky, Europe's Answer to Bethanie Mattek-Sands

There haven't been too many stories out of Miami so far this week, except for the occasional ridiculous outfit being worn to the Players' Party.  There are an incredible number of wild cards and qualifiers in the draw, which has largely made for some pretty uncompetitive matches.

But one match that did stick out to me was the match between Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky and American qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands, a match which Bacsinszky won in two tight sets by the scoreline of 6-4, 6-4.

Bacsinszky is one of the most aggressive, go-for-broke players on the tour, a tendency apparent in her serving stats alone, as her five aces were somewhat undermined by four double faults.   She's also a tremendous player at the tightest junctures of matches, winning more break points than Mattek-Sands was able to (4 to 2), with fewer break points (10 to 13).

Bacsinszky, whose parents hailed from Hungary, hasn't had a big run at a slam like Mattek-Sands, and has grabbed nowhere near the buzz for her on-court look. but she does have one important asset that Mattek-Sands is yet to attain: a WTA title, which Bacsinszky won for the first time in Luxembourg last October.

And while her clothing contract with Lacoste prevents her from taking the same liberties with her clothing as Mattek-Sands is known for, her enormous hoop earrings, Amy Winehouse-esque eye makeup, and enormous hip-hop blasting white earphones make her pretty tough to miss at any tournament.

Ranked just outside the top 50 at #54, Bacsinszky is definitely a player to watch in the coming months, especially on her native clay courts this spring.  Her next match at Miami pits her against heavily-favored #8 seed Li Na, but look for Bacsinszky to have a pretty respectable showing.