The second leg of the Sunshine Double has arrived, as the Miami Open follows the recently completed BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Will a second consecutive Masters 1000 tournament be just as surprising as the first? The Indian Wells final saw Jack Draper defeat Holger Rune, while Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic lost their opening matches and Carlos Alcaraz fell to Draper in the semis. Jannik Sinner remains suspended, so the door could once again be open for any number of under-the-radar contenders to break through.
Here is a breakdown of the bracket and my predictions.
Miami Open
Where: Miami, Florida
Surface: Hard
Points: 1000
Prize money: $9,193,540
Top seed: Alexander Zverev
2024 champion: Jannik Sinner (not playing)
Draw analysis: Alcaraz and Djokovic were in the same quarter in Indian Wells (that potential matchup never came close to happening); now they are in the same half in Miami.
Of course, neither man will be looking ahead–especially Djokovic, who exited Tennis Paradise right away at the hands of Botic van de Zandschulp. The 37-year-old Serb could run into Daniil Medvedev in the Miami quarterfinals, and that section of the draw also includes Stefanos Tsitsipas, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Lorenzo Musetti. Alcaraz will begin his bid for a second title in the 305 against either Aleksandar Vukic or David Goffin, after which his path to the final four could feature Brandon Nakashima, Grigor Dimitrov, and either Casper Ruud or Tommy Paul.
In the top half of the bracket, we may have a rematch of the Indian Wells final between Draper and Rune as early as the fourth round. However, Draper will probably have to get past Jakub Mensik and Rune has an in-form Tomas Machac in his way. As for the top-seeded Zverev, he might get a chance to avenge his Indian Wells loss to Tallon Griekspoor in the Miami round of 16. Both Zverev and Taylor Fritz are looking vulnerable these days, so a big opportunity could be in the cards for the likes of Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev, Ben Shelton, Denis Shapovalov, Hubert Hurkacz, and Matteo Berrettini.
First-round matchups to watch in Miami are Mensik vs. Roberto Bautista Agut, Griekspoor vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Joao Fonseca vs. Learner Tien, Nuno Borges vs. Zizou Begs, and Kei Nishikori vs. Yoshihito Nishioka.
Hot: Alex de Minaur, Jack Draper, Holger Rune, Denis Shapovalov, Tallon Griekspoor, Tomas Machac, Brandon Nakashima, Marcos Giron, Nuno Borges, Sebastian Baez, Francisco Comesana, Zizou Bergs, Joao Fonseca, Learner Tien
Cold: Alexander Zverev, Frances Tiafoe, Sebastian Korda, Alexei Popyrin, Brandon Nakashima, Alejandro Tabilo, Alexander Bublik, Nick Kyrgios, Flavio Cobolli
Quarterfinal predictions: Tomas Machac over Tallon Griekspoor, Andrey Rublev over Denis Shapovalov, Lorenzo Musetti over Daniil Medvedev, and Carlos Alcaraz over Francisco Cerundolo
Semifinals: Rublev over Machac and Alcaraz over Musetti
Final: Alcaraz over Rublev
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