The BNP Paribas Open produced plenty of entertainment even though Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal played a combined two matches (two for Djokovic and none for Nadal after the Spaniard withdrew). They won’t play any between them at the Miami Open, as Nadal never planned to play and Djokovic pulled out following his early exit from the Indian Wells Masters. Still, this Miami event will be in good hands with a field featuring Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Daniil Medvedev.
Medvedev finished runner-up to Alcaraz in the desert and they could have a final rematch on their hands in Miami since they are in opposite halves of the draw. Of course, Sinner—who has lost just a single match in 2024 (to Alcaraz in the Indian Wells semis)—will have something to say about that.
Here is a breakdown of the bracket and my predictions.
Miami Open
Where: Miami, Florida
Surface: Hard
Points: 1000
Prize money: $8,995,555
Top seed: Carlos Alcaraz
Defending champion: Daniil Medvedev
Draw analysis: Sinner is hoping to go one step farther in Miami (lost to Medvedev in the 2023 final) while also bouncing back from his first loss of the year. It won’t be an easy task, however, because his quarter of the draw is absolutely loaded. The world No. 3 could face Indian Wells semifinalist Tommy Paul in the fourth round and fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals. This section also includes Stefanos Tsitsipas, Frances Tiafoe, Andy Murray, Matteo Berrettini, Arthur Fils, and Matteo Arnaldi.
Another Sinner-Medvedev matchup is possible in the semis. The Russian’s road through the bracket also won’t be easy, however. He could run into a red-hot Ugo Humbert in the last 16 and either Casper Ruud or Taylor Fritz in the quarters.
At the top of the draw, Alcaraz will kick off his fortnight with either Aleksandar Vukic or Roberto Carballes Baena on the other side of the set. Things could get very interesting very fast thereafter, as the 20-year-old Spaniard is likely to meet Gael Monfils in the third round and Ben Shelton in the fourth. Hubert Hurkacz, Grigor Dimitrov, and Sebastian Korda are potential quarterfinal foes for Alcaraz.
Alexander Zverev’s quarter has to be considered the deepest—and really the toughest from top to bottom. It is also home to Holger Rune, Acapulco winner Alex de Minaur, Doha champion Karen Khachanov, Indian Wells quarterfinalist Jiri Lehecka, Miami Open guru Francisco Cerundolo (semifinals and the quarterfinals in his last two tournament appearances), and a crop of unseeded floaters that includes Felix Auger-Aliassime, Lorenzo Sonego, Fabian Marozsan, and Kei Nishikori.
First-round matches to watch on Wednesday and Thursday are Murray vs. Berrettini, Fils vs. Arnaldi, Sonego vs. Dan Evans, and Miomir Kecmanovic vs. Juncheng Shang.
Hot: Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, Alex de Minaur, Grigor Dimitrov, Ugo Humbert, Tommy Paul, Sebastian Baez, Adrian Mannarino, Tallon Griekspoor, Jiri Lehecka, Alex Michelsen, Tomas Machac, Alejandro Tabilo, Marcos Giron, Jordan Thompson, Matteo Arnaldi, Flavio Cobolli, Nuno Borges, Facundo Diaz Acosta
Cold: Stefanos Tsitsipas, Frances Tiafoe, Francisco Cerundolo, Lorenzo Musetti, Cameron Norrie, Chris Eubanks, Andy Murray, Botic Van de Zandschulp, Denis Shapovalov, Pedro Cachin, Kei Nishikori, Matteo Berrettini, Soonwoo Kwon
Quarterfinal predictions: Carlos Alcaraz over Grigor Dimitrov, Alex de Minaur over Francisco Cerundolo, Taylor Fritz over Ugo Humbert, and Jannik Sinner over Andrey Rublev
Semifinals: Alcaraz over De Minaur and Sinner over Fritz
Final: Sinner over Alcaraz
who ya got?
Tough one to call with the faster surface but I think Carlos may get the double with the top spot on the line.
and now that Sinner has a chink in his armour, he may be more vulnerable than ever and might overplay. How do you remain patient and play within yourself when you were beaten at your own game.