Miami QF previews and predictions: Isner vs. Chung, Del Potro vs. Raonic

A relatively surprising matchup will kick off quarterfinal action in Miami on Wednesday, with a suddenly in-form John Isner going up against Hyeon Chung. In the nightcap, a red-hot Juan Martin Del Potro is facing Milos Raonic.

(19) Hyeon Chung vs. (14) John Isner

Isner and Chung will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers and for the second time this season when they battle for a semifinal spot at the Miami Open on Wednesday afternoon. The head-to-head series stands at 2-1 in favor of Isner, but Chung prevailed 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-2 two months ago in Auckland. Unsurprisingly, Isner’s victories came in the United States–7-5(5), 6-4 on the clay courts of Houston in 2016 and 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 at last summer’s U.S. Open. The 6’10” American once again has home-court advantage, and he is heating up in front his supporters before heading off to European clay next month. Isner had been a dreadful 2-6 this season prior to Miami, but he has suddenly picked up the pace to defeat Jiri Vesely, Mikhail Youzhny, and Marin Cilic.

Other than Pablo Carreno Busta, who has benefited from Roger Federer’s early exit from the top section of the draw, no one has been more dominant this fortnight than Chung. The 21-year-old Korean has not dropped a set of even played in three wins–over Matthew Ebden, Michael Mmoh, and Joao Sousa. Chung won the NextGen ATP Finals last fall but this time around he may find himself on the even bigger stage of the Nitto ATP Finals in London. The world No. 23 boasts an 18-6 record in 2018 that includes a semifinal showing at the Australian Open and quarterfinal performances in Auckland, Delray Beach, Acapulco, and Indian Wells. Unless Isner serves incredibly well and pulls out at least one tiebreaker if not two, Chung’s solid ball-striking and outstanding defensive skills should ultimately break down the big guy from the back of the court.

Pick: Chung in 3

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(5) Juan Martin Del Potro vs. (20) Milos Raonic

Del Potro and Raonic will be squaring off at a second consecutive Masters 1000 tournament when they meet again on Wednesday. The head-to-head series is now tied up at two wins apiece following Del Potro’s 6-2, 6-3 rout in the Indian Wells semifinals less than two weeks ago. They had previously faced each other only once since the end of 2013, mainly due to Del Potro’s physical problems. But the sixth-ranked Argentine is finally armed with a clean bill of health and he has been the undisputed best player in the world this spring. Del Potro is in the midst of a 14-match winning streak that includes titles in Acapulco and Indian Wells plus Miami victories over Robin Haase, Kei Nishikori, and Filip Krajinovic.

Raonic, of course, has also not exactly been immune to injury issues. The 27-year-old Canadian missed most of last summer and fall because of various ailments, and he had been a mere 3-3 in 2018 prior to arriving in Indian Wells. A much-needed hot streak has seen Raonic win three matches en route to the Indian Wells semis and three more in Miami at the expense of Mikael Ymer, Diego Schwartzman, and Jeremy Chardy–all in straight sets. This should be more competitive than their duel in the desert as Raonic continues to build confidence, but Del Potro is looking borderline unbeatable at what is basically a home-court advantage event for him. Since dropping a set to Haase in his opener, the fifth seed has won four of his last five sets by 6-2 scorelines and the other was 6-4 against Krajinovic.

Pick: Del Potro in 2

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