Miami Masters preview and predictions

It turned out that everyone else in Indian Wells was playing for second place, given the dominance of Roger Federer. But with Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Nick Kyrgios, Alexander Zverev, and Juan Martin Del Potro all packed into the same quarter of that draw, second place–and third, and fourth–was wide open.

The Miami Open–first place included–should be even more up for grabs, especially with Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic out due to elbow injuries. That means Indian Wells runner-up Stan Wawrinka is the No. 1 seed ahead of Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic, and Federer.

Another tough quarter awaits Federer and Del Potro in Miami, where they could go head-to-head in the third round. It would not be unfair to argue that the winner of that possible showdown will go on to take the title, although Del Potro would likely have a hard time backing up an upset of Federer by beating Roberto Bautista Agut in the next round.

Elsewhere in the top half of the bracket, Wawrinka is in a section that also includes Kyrgios, Zverev, David Goffin, and John Isner.

On the other side, potential quarterfinal showdowns are Nishikori vs. Marin Cilic and Raonic vs. Nadal. A rematch of an Australian Open semifinal thriller–won by Nadal–could see the Spaniard go up against Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round. Dimitrov is 17-3 this season with losses only to Nadal, Goffin, and Sock (all in final sets).

Intriguing first-rounders include Donald Young vs. Dustin Brown, Fabio Fognini vs. Ryan Harrison, and Benoit Paire vs. Martin Klizan, Kyle Edmund vs. Jared Donaldson, Alexandr Dolgopolov vs. Malek Jaziri, and Nikoloz Basilashvili vs. Tommy Robredo.

Seeds who could lose their opening match:

(18) John Isner–vs. Thomas Bellucci. Isner is not in good form, has never fared well against lefties, and Bellucci would basically have home-court advantage in Miami even though this is technically in the United States.

(22) Sam Querrey–vs. Nikoloz Basilashvili. Querrey recently captured a stunning title in Acapulco. He will be content with that result for at least a few months.

(27) David Ferrer–vs. Karen Khachanov or Diego Schwartzman. This is the beginning of the end for Ferrer, whose disappearance from the top of the rankings is becoming more and more obvious with each tournament.

(30) Joao Sousa–vs. Fabio Fognini or Ryan Harrison. Sousa is tougher mentally than either of his two potential second-round opponents, but the discrepancy in sheer talent level may be too much to overcome.

(32) Paolo Lorenzi–vs. Adrian Mannarino. Lorenzi shouldn’t be seeded; and he wouldn’t be if not for the withdrawals of Djokovic, Murray, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and others. Mannarino is a crafty fast-court player who often does well in Miami.

Predictions

Quarterfinals: Nick Kyrgios over Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem over Roberto Bautista Agut, Grigor Dimitrov over Milos Raonic, and Lucas Pouille over Fernando Verdasco

Semifinals: Kyrgios over Thiem and Dimitrov over Pouille

Final: Dimitrov over Kyrgios

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