Francisco Cerundolo is making another run at the Miami Masters 1000. He will try to defend all of his 2022 semifinal points when he goes up against Karen Khachanov during quarterfinal action on Thursday.
(25) Francisco Cerundolo vs. (14) Karen Khachanov
There must be some magic in the air for Francisco Cerundolo at the Miami Open. The Argentine tore through the draw in 2022, advancing all the way to the semifinals before losing to Casper Ruud in routine straight sets. This year he has nearly matched his result and he gets a crack at the not-entirely consistent Karen Khachanov in the quarters.
Khachanov followed up his 2022 U.S. Open semifinal result with a semi showing in Melbourne. Those details would ordinarily mean that Khachanov is an easy pick for Thursday’s winner, but not so in this case. The Russian won exactly one match since Melbourne prior to this run in Miami.
Khachanov’s path to the quarters was a bit underwhelming. He was taken to three sets by Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the second round, defeated Jiri Lehecka easily in the third, and then benefited from facing an injured Stefanos Tsitsipas. At this particular event, with Cernudolo playing with confidence, Khachanov is vulnerable in this one.
Although a Khachanov win would be no surprise (he is the favorite, after all), Cerundolo has a great chance to make it back to the final four–likely in three tight sets.
Cheryl pick: Cerundolo in 3
Ricky pick: Cerundolo in 3
WWW?
Kach looked good out at IW…in 2.