Tuesday’s action-packed slate at the Miami Open presented by Itau will see the fourth round start and finish, with eight high-stakes matchups on tap. The draw’s top half has yielded a marquee matchup between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Carlos Alcaraz, as well as a tough test for World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev against Jenson Brooksby. Defending champion Hubert Hurkacz will face Lloyd Harris, while Indian Wells champ Taylor Fritz takes on Miomir Kecmanovic for a spot in the quarter-finals of the year’s second ATP Masters 1000 event.
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[3] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) [14] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP)
It was one of the shocks of the 2021 US Open when the unproven Alcaraz upset Tsitsipas in the third round. But the Spaniard backed up that fifth-set tie-break win by reaching the quarter-finals in New York, and he has gone from strength to strength from there, rocketing into the Top 20 behind a pair of ATP Tour titles (Umag, Rio de Janeiro).
Both men are in top form entering Tuesday’s rematch, as Tsitsipas looks to level their ATP Head2Head at one win apiece. The Greek dominated Alex de Minaur, 6-4, 6-3, to reach the last 16, while Alcaraz, who has yet to drop a set in Miami, was a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Marin Cilic in the third round.
Tsitsipas is the higher-ranked player, but Alcaraz has been more consistent on the season at 13-2. The Greek, whose record stands at 17-6, is one spot higher at No. 6 in the ATP Race To Turin, thanks to his semi-final run at the Australian Open.
“I’m going to try and fight. He’s a great player.” the Greek previewed. “For me, it is going to be a big challenge to step out on the court. I like these kinds of challenges. I’m going to put my soul out there and give it my all.”
Following their US Open matchup, Tsitsipas said he had “never seen someone hit the ball so hard”. On his second look, he will look to find the right game plan to cool the red-hot 18-year-old in the slow Miami conditions.
[1] Daniil Medvedev vs. Jenson Brooksby (USA)
Medvedev and Brooksby will square off for the first time, with the American booking the showdown by coming back from 0-4 down in the third set against Roberto Bautista Agut.
In an intriguing stylistic matchup, the 6-foot-6 Medvedev and the 6-foot-4 Brooksby will match wits with their unique brands of tennis. Expect a lot of variety and dogged retrieving from both men, though Medvedev is more than capable of taking the direct route in points with a big serve and forehand. His opponent may lack that quick-strike ability, but he more than makes up for it with an impressive all-around game with few weaknesses.
Sitting at a career-high of No. 39 in the ATP Rankings, Brooksby already has experience against the game’s best on the biggest stages. He caused Novak Djokovic fits with his unorthodox game at the US Open as he dominated the opening set in their fourth-round matchup, ultimately falling in four entertaining sets.
As for Medvedev, who went on to beat Djokovic in the New York final, two more wins in Miami will see him overtake the Serb to reclaim the World No. 1 ranking with a semi-final showing.
[8] Hubert Hurkacz vs. Lloyd Harris (RSA)
The defending Miami champion overcame a pair of tricky matchups against Arthur Rinderknech and 29th seed Aslan Karatsev to kickstart his 2022 campaign in South Florida, going three sets to get past Karatsev and reach the last 16. The unseeded Harris also enters on the heels of a three-set win, his coming against Yoshihito Nishioka on Monday.
With no rest day for the top half of the draw, fitness could be a factor in this one.
Neither man has been able to sustain top form so far in 2022, with Hurkacz’s best result coming in a Dubai semi-final run and Harris failing to win a match until he followed a Davis Cup victory with a three-set win over Facundo Bagnis at Indian Wells.
Harris again beat Bagnis to open his Miami campaign, but backed it up this time with a 6-3, 6-4 win against 12th seed Denis Shapovalov before downing Nishioka in three.
The winner of their match on the Grandstand will face the winner of Medvedev vs. Brooksby.
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[11] Taylor Fritz (USA) vs. Miomir Kecmanovic (SER)
Fritz and Kecmanovic will meet for the second time in 11 days after Fritz won a three-setter in the Indian Wells quarter-finals. Fritz has shown no signs of slowing down after winning his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title, beating Mikhail Kukushkin and Tommy Paul to reach the fourth round as Miami’s 11th seed.
Following his 7-6(2), 6-4 win over Paul, the American said his ankle is a little worse than after his Miami Opener, but “way, way better” than it felt in Indian Wells.
As he gets set for his ninth match in just over two weeks, the 24-year-old is hoping to keep the momentum going.
“It’s tough,” he said. “Obviously my body is feeling it a bit, but I’m kind of just thinking I’m playing good, my confidence is high, so I want to keep riding it out as much as possible — instead of the other way you can go, which is being satisfied and thinking, ‘Oh, I did really well this week, it’s OK if I don’t do so well the next week.’
“I kind of just kept telling myself to not be satisfied with doing well in Indian Wells. I want to do well here. I just want to ride out this confidence and the good tennis that I’m playing and just keep it going.”
While Kecmanovic is still seeking his first tour-level title of 2022, the 22-year-old is bidding for a fourth consecutive quarter-final appearance following deep runs in Rio de Janeiro, Santiago and Indian Wells. The in-form Serb also made the last 16 at the Australian Open, where he lost to Gael Monfils.
That run of results has Kecmanovic at No. 16 in the ATP Race To Turin, while Fritz is sitting pretty at No. 3, behind only Rafael Nadal and Medvedev.
The winner here will take on Tsitsipas or Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.
ORDER OF PLAY – TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2022
STADIUM start 12:00 noon
ATP – [Q] T Kokkinakis (AUS) vs. [2] A. Zverev (GER)
ATP – [1] D. Medvedev vs. J. Brooksby (USA)
Not Before 3:00 pm
WTA – [22] B. Bencic (SUI) vs. [WC] D. Saville (AUS)
Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA – N. Osaka (JPN) vs. [9] D. Collins (USA)
Not Before 9:00 pm
[11] T. Fritz (USA) vs. M. Kecmanovic (SER)
GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
ATP – [6] C. Ruud (NOR) vs. [10] C. Norrie (GBR)
ATP – [WC] N Kyrgios (AUS) vs. [9] J. Sinner (ITA)
ATP – F. Cerundolo (ARG) vs. [28] F. Tiafoe (USA)
ATP – L. Harris (RSA) vs. [8] H. Hurkacz (POL)
ATP – [3] S. Tsitsipas (GRE) vs. [14] C. Alcaraz (ATP)
BUTCH BUCHHOLZ start 11:00 am
ATP – R. Bopanna (IND) / D. Shapovalov (CAN) vs. [6] W. Koolhof (NED) / N. Skupski (GBR)
Not Before 12:00 pm
WTA – K. Flipkens (BEL) / S. Mirza (IND) vs. E. Alexandrova / Z. Yang (CHN)
Not Before 2:00 pm
[1] Kudermetova V., E. Mertens (BEL) A. Rosolska (POL) / E. Routliffe (AUS)
After Suitable Rest
[WC] T Kokkinakis (AUS) / N Kyrgios (AUS) vs. [3] M. Granollers (ESP) / H. Zeballos (ARG)
S. Bolelli (ITA) / F. Fognini (ITA) vs. F. Delbonis (ARG) / Ma. Gonzalez (ARG)
