Miami May Go Wild This Year!

With the last hardcourt ATP/WTA masters of the season winding down in Miami, we will be giving our predictions on the rest of the tournament!

ATP:

Starting with the ATP, we still have 3 Quarter-Finals matchups left due to weather delays. With Sinner having defeated the fiery Finn, Emil Ruusuvuori, in straight sets, we are only left with 3 matchups in the Quarter-Finals involving; Medvedev, Alcaraz, Fritz, Eubanks, Kachanov and Cerundolo.

QF 2: Medvedev vs Eubanks

The Russian prodigy vs growing american star on home soil! Although at first glance this may seem like a heavily lopsided affair, many factors come into play when looking at this matchup. On Medvedev’s side you have pure brilliancy, a great start to the season and hunger to regain that world #1 spot that was snatched from him in the last year. On Eubanks’ side you also have the hunger to prove the world that he deserves to be a consistent tour player, the momentum from previous performances which have now ranked him the top 100 and the biggest factor of them all, home soil. We predict an upset with a Eubanks win in 3 sets, 2-6, 7-6 and 6-3.

QF 3: Khachanov vs Cerundolo

There is not much to say about this matchup, although we may be surprised. Karen Khachanov has had a bizarre start to the 2023 season. Karen has participated in 5 tournaments up to now and has had very disappointing results in all but the most important one so far, that of the Australian Open where he matched up against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Semi-Finals. Karen has struggled to find a consistent level all of 2022 and that seems to be the same issue in 2023. When he is on his game, Karen can take on anyone as we were able to see in the Australian Open and the UsOpen. It is also important to note that Karen’s road to the Quarter-Finals in Miami hasn’t been the easiest in terms of opponents having faced, Etcheverry (breakout season on clay), lehečhka (solid rookie on the tour) and Tsitsipas ( Consistent top 10 player). On the other hand, when looking at Francisco Cerundolo, we can come to learn that he is a player with extreme inconsistencies and a lack of power. Cerundolo who is known to be a decent clay player, seems to have a liking for the Miami Open as he has put up good results in the last 2 years reaching the Quarter-Finals this year and having reached the Semi-Finals last year. Although Cerundolo has defeated players like Felix-Auger Aliassime and Lorenzo Sonego, we don’t think he will be able to overcome Khachanov. We predict a win in 3 sets for Khachanov, 6-3, 6-7 and 6-2.

QF 4: Alcaraz vs Fritz

In our opinion, this will be the best matchup of the QUARTER-FINALS. Carlos Alcaraz stunned the world last year completing his first full year on the tour, bringing home many trophies and a notable grand-slam at the USOPEN. What is amazing about this is the fact that, the world number 1 has remained as consistent/dominant coming into 2023 already having won 2 out of 3 tournaments he has participated in (Indian Wells and Buenos aires). He has reached the finals in all his tournaments this season and hasn’t dropped a set in 9 matches! Taylor Fritz, best ranked american on tour, has had a decent start to his season having won the Delray Beach Open (ATP 250) and having had average results in his tournaments while matching up against players ranked well below him. A trend we have noticed with Taylor is his lack of effectiveness when playing against players faster than him. Fritz lacks speed and isn’t always consistent on his serve which may be a problem against a disciplined, fast and hardcourt maestro in Alcaraz. If Fritz is able to stay in his game and play Alcaraz with class he may be able to push this match to a third set which can lead to a surprise, but our analysis leads us to believing that Carlitos will take this in straight sets, 6-3 and 6-3.

SF 1: Alcaraz vs Sinner

We were able to get a taste if this matchup in Indian Wells where Alcaraz took this match in 2 sets. Every time these 2 meet, we can always expect a good matchup that displays greats amount of speed and accuracy between the 2 young stars. These 2 have met 6 times ( 5 on the ATP tour and 1 on the CHALLENGER tour) with a head to head record of 4-2 in favour of Alcaraz. Although, Alcaraz took their last matchup, it was not an easy one for him. Sinner had many great chances to take the 1st set but fell short leading to a 2nd set where we saw a great drop in his level of play due to lack of mental strength. Sinner has been amazing this year and we believe if anyone were to beat Alcaraz this tournament it will be him. We have Sinner winning this matchup in 3 sets, 3-6, 7-6 and 7-6.

SF 2: Eubanks vs Khachanov

We predict that this matchup will see another upset. If Eubanks defeats Medvedev he will have all sorts of momentum going into this round. He will have the crowd roaring for him which will propulse his level. As we know Karen can be extremely inconsistent. If Eubanks plays to the level we know he could attain and shows out against Khachanov, with the crowd on his side, all the momentum he has reaching the Semi-Finals as a qualifier and the hunger of being a tour player, we predict Eubanks will take this in straight sets just like against Mannarino. We predict a 2 set win for Eubanks over Khachanov, 7-6 and 6-3.

FINALS: Eubanks vs Sinner

In this years Finals matchup, we predict a Sinner vs Eubanks matchup. Jannik will be coking into this matchup knowing that this is a masters he can win which would in fact make it the 1st Masters win in his trophy case. Having beaten Alcaraz and knowing how rare the position he will be in is we don’t think he will let this slip by. If Eubanks is able to sustain the same level as previous rounds he can maybe snatch a set from the Italian sensation, but we predict a 2 set victory for Jannik sinner, 6-2 and 6-4

WTA:

Moving onto the WTA circuit we are left with 1 Quarter-Finals matchup (weather delays). We are already set on one matchup in the Semi-Finals matchup featuring Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina with Sorana Cristea waiting for the for the winner of the last Quarter-Finals matchup to meet her in the Semis.

QF 4: Kvitová vs Alexandrova

This is as even as a matchup as they come. Petra has had an excellent start to the 2023 season apart from a slip up in the Australian Open. She has put away quality opponents such as Pegula, Ostapenko, Vekic and grand slam winner, Rybakina. The once ranked world number 2, is looking to add to her tally facing off against Alexandrova. Although, Petra is getting up there in age, she still retains that great power and precision that helps her put away winners. On the other side of the martchup, Alexandrova has had a horrible start to the 2023 season. Alexandrova has been forced to retire from one match and has been physically unable to play in her first round matchup in Abu Dhabi. Ekaterina has great talent but has been underwhelming on the tour since the beginning of her career only having won 3 titles (1 on the international level and the 2 others in 2022). Last season was her best, winning 2 titles vs two quality opponents that of, Sabalenka and Ostapenko. Alexandrova is an extremely resilient player who has a great mindset. Although, Petra has had a great start to the 2023 season, we think that Alexandrova will want to prove herself and reach the desired goal of winning a Masters tournament. We predict an upset win by Alexandrova in 3 sets, 5-7, 6-2 and 7-6.

SF 1: Rybakina vs Pegula

Sparks will fly! Rybakina 2023 Indian Wells winner and 2022 Wimbledon winner vs 2022 Guadalajara winner and top ranked American, Jessica Pegula. This is set to be a great matchup displaying pure tennis iq. We know both players are very technical but Rybakina is a much more powerful player. Their head to head record shows a 2-0 lead for Pegula having beaten Rybakina twice in 2022 (Miami & Guadalajara). Although Rybakina is technically the better player, she has also made deep runs in the last 2 tournaments and may be a little tired. Pegula has home court advantage being a resident in Florida and will look to make her record 3-0 against the young Russian/Kazakhstan prodigy. We predict a 2 set win for Pegula, 7-6 and 7-6.

SF 2: Cristea vs Alexandrova

This potential matchup will not even be close in our opinion. Sorana has proved to be a force not to be reckon with in these last 2 masters. Alexandrova will not be able to keep up with her current level and will get blown out of Miami in the Semi-Finals. We predict a 2-0 won for Cristea, 6-2 and 6-2.

FINALS: Pegula vs Cristea

This may not have been the Final most would have predicted on the WTA side of the Miami Open but it may be a quite interesting one. Pegula the hometown hero against Cristea who has been in great form these last 2 tournaments. In terms of consistency, Pegula has been much more consistent than Cristea these passed seasons reaching her highest rank ever of World number 3. Pegula has also faced Cristea twice in her career and edged her out in both matches. Cristea reached a rank as high as 21 in her career but seems to have alot of game left in her sitting at a current rank of 74. We know that Pegula doesn’t have great stamina and gets very sloppy in her play when she is tired. That said, with all the tennis being played recently Pegula may be tired and my mot play to the highest of her standards against the 33 year old Romanian who hasn’t given an inch to her opponents in recent matches! Cristea is great at returning and will use that to her advantage when potentially facing Pegula who isn’t the best at serving. This matchup will point to an upset in our opinion and Cristea will claim this years 2023 Miami Open Masters in 3 sets. We predict Cristea will take this match in 3 sets, 7-5, 2-6 and 7-5.

If our predictions are correct, this years’ final rounds at the Miami Open will be amazing. Our final predicitons; Jannik Sinner to win on the ATP tour and Sorana Cristea to win on the WTA tour!

We hope you enjoyed this article!