The Miami Open heats up on Tuesday, as an in-form Roger Federer takes on Daniil Medvedev and young guns Stefanos Tsitsipas and Denis Shapovalov battle for a spot in the quarters. All eight men’s fourth-round matches are taking place.
(4) Roger Federer vs. (13) Daniil Medvedev
World No. 5 Roger Federer looked a bit rusty in his second round match against the Moldovan qualifier Radu Albot. The Swiss dropped the first set before righting the ship. There were no such signs of rust in his third-rounder. Federer dispatched Filip Krajinovic 7-5, 6-3.
Medvedev wasn’t quite as fortunate in his third round match. The young Russian took on towering American Reilly Opelka; Medvedev needed three tiebreak sets to send Opelka packing-and there is no day off for him before he meets Federer. Medvedev is ranked a career-high 15th in the world on the strength of a great start to the season, including a trip to the finals in Brisbane, a respectable fourth-round showing in Melbourne, and the tournament win in Sofia.
Federer and Medvedev played twice last fall; Federer won both encounters on hard courts. This won’t be a walk in the park for Federer, as Medvedev has been playing well all year. Still, the world No. 5 will go in as the favorite thanks to current form and their previous playing record.
Cheryl pick: Federer in 3
Ricky pick: Federer in 2
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(8) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. (20) Denis Shapovalov
Regardless of who wins this fourth-round match, youth will be king on Tuesday in Miami. Stefanos Tsitsipas, the breakout star of 2018, is 20 years old; opponent Denis Shapovalov is just 19. And while Tsitsipas is ranked higher than Shapovalov, the Canadian has been in dangerous form all week.
The two men have met just twice on the pro tour: Shapovalov won the first at the Australian Open last year, while Tsitsipas got revenge in Monte Carlo. Still, though they aren’t strangers, this meeting will be almost like an entirely new experience. Since their last encounter, both players have evolved into much better players–with Tsitsipas taking the finesse approach to the game while Shapovalov likes to try to hit the cover off the ball.
Concerning for the Greek is that Tsitsipas looked a bit lackluster in his third-round win over Leonardo Mayer. Shapovalov, on the other hand, was magnificent in his win over Andrey Rublev. The Canadian has often had the tendency to play inconsistently, so Tsitsipas will stay have some opportunities, but if Shapovalov is striking it like he did on Monday night, it will be hard for Tsitsipas to keep up.
Cheryl pick: Shapovalov in 3
Ricky pick: Tsitsipas in 3
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