Miami Open Tennis 2015 Results: Scores, Bracket and Schedule After Friday

The end of Friday's matches at the 2015 Miami Open prevented reigning champion Serena Williams from taking the court, but plenty of notable names did get their work in at the Masters event.

Victoria Azarenka has been fighting to get on course this season, but she took a big step forward in advancing to the third round. After making the final last week at Indian Wells, Jelena Jankovic ran into an Azarenka buzz saw in a 6-1, 6-1 blowout.

Ben Rothenberg of The New York Times highlighted how resilient Azarenka proved to be in the most trying points of the day:

Indian Wells champion Simona Halep needed three sets to get through to the next round, defeating Nicole Vaidisova 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in a back-and-forth affair.

SI Tennis praised the efforts of Halep's 25-year-old adversary:

A rain delay had to have played a part in stymieing Halep's momentum after she'd cruised in the first set. At least the world No. 3 was able to overcome the adversity and do enough to move on after such a huge triumph in her previous start.

In a battle of two of the USA's most talented young players, Sloane Stephens had a rather easy time knocking off Madison Keys 6-4, 6-2.

Tennis journalist Douglas Robson believes Stephens is trending in the right direction, though she's still seeking her first WTA title:

Another American upstart had an interesting match on Friday to round out the most notable storylines on the women's side. Irina Falconi pushed fifth-seeded Ana Ivanovic to three sets, only to ultimately fall short by a score of 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-3.

The highest seed in action in the ATP was No. 2 Rafael Nadal, who took care of business with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Spanish compatriot Nicolas Almagro.

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

Nadal spoke about his form after he capitalized on lackluster serving by his opponent, winning 13 of 26 second-return points.

"The wind was really high. It was very difficult to find a positive feeling on the court," said Nadal, as reported by MiamiOpen.com's Steve Gorten. "But in general, I played a solid match. I had good movement…and when I had to put balls in and play with no mistakes—that was the idea today with the very tough conditions—I did."

It didn't appear that Nadal's ankle was bothering him much, which bodes well for his prospects of advancing to the final down the road. Tennis.com's Matt Cronin praised the standout winners from Friday in addition to noting how strong Nadal looked:

Third-seeded Andy Murray had a similarly easy go of it on Friday, cruising past Donald Young by the exact same score Nadal advanced on.

The biggest upset from the men's draw was No. 10 Feliciano Lopez falling to Dominic Thiem in three sets.

Stanislas Wawrinka was pushed to the limit against Carlos Berlocq, losing a first-set tiebreaker before winning the second set 7-5 and then capping off with a less stressful 6-2 third set.

Both of the defending champions in Williams and Novak Djokovic are slated to compete at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park on Saturday. Their outings alone are reason enough to tune in.

Williams had an emotional return to Indian Wells and was on a nice run before being forced to withdraw prior to the semifinals with a knee injury. It may have been a serendipitous development for Williams to not have played on Friday, but her form against Monica Niculescu will be telling.

The opening match for Djokovic isn't a walk in the park against Martin Klizan. If the inconsistent Slovakian is on, he can challenge anyone in the ATP. Based on how deep Djokovic dug to beat Roger Federer in the Indian Wells final, though, he ought to be able to get it done Saturday.

Note: The Miami Open's official website has full draw listings, along with the upcoming schedule for the entire tournament.