Carlos Alcaraz will hope to build on his semifinal showing in Indian Wells when he gets started at the Miami Masters on Saturday. Alcaraz opens with Marton Fucsovics, while Karen Khachanov is going up against Tommy Paul.
Marton Fucsovics vs. (14) Carlos Alcaraz
At only 18 years old, Alcaraz is already up to No. 16 in the world and No. 7 in the 2022 race to Turin. The Spaniard’s real breakthrough came in the form of a quarterfinal run at the U.S. Open last summer, and it has only been full steam ahead for him this season. His record stands at 12-2, which includes a title in Rio de Janeiro and a semifinal run at the Indian Wells Masters.
Up first for Alcaraz at the Miami Open on Saturday is Fucsovics, who lost their only previous meeting 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 at the 2021 Winston-Salem Open. The 55th-ranked Hungarian is a much bigger underdog now, as he hasn’t been able to build on last year’s Wimbledon quarterfinal performance. In fact, he is just 12-19 since leaving the All-England Club (7-8 this season). Fucsovics scored a solid 6-3, 6-4 victory over Marcos Giron his Miami opener, but Alcaraz obviously represents a massive step up in competition.
Pick: Alcaraz in 2
Tommy Paul vs. (23) Karen Khachanov
Like Alcaraz, Paul also made plenty of noise in Indian Wells–albeit not quite to the same extent. The 37th-ranked American turned in an incredible performance to upset Alexander Zverev before losing to Alex de Minaur in the third round. Paul picked up his 13th match victory of the season when he defeated a red-hot Benjamin Bonzi 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday.
The 24-year-old will be going head-to-head with Khachanov for the first time on Saturday. Khachanov does not have much momentum behind him, as his modest 11-7 record in 2022 includes no wins over anyone ranked higher than Marin Cilic–who is currently 23rd. Combine that lack of form with the fact that Paul has already gotten used to the Miami conditions with a win under his belt, and this could be a quick exit for Khachanov.
Pick: Paul in 2
WWW?
Alcaraz and Paul for sure.
Do you know who Tan replaced, WTA? We all had her going really deep!
Agree re Al and Pauly.
Halep .I think I had her winning
It’s one of those brackets that was a disaster before it started
Too true 🙂
One half of my bracket is completely red! Yikes!
Alcaraz really needs to beef up that serve if he ever wants to have a chance at a slam. His groundies r superb but he can’t always rely on them especially in a five set match. Rafa”s serve was never the best component of his game but over his career he needed to tweak it to be competitive in slams like USO. Sooner rather than later Carlos will need to develop that serve!
He only 18
I just had a look at Ricky’s twitter. Ricky asked when Alcaraz was going to win a slam ie what year and which one.
Loads of people have replied with RG this year!!! Or USO this year!!
Yeah? Not with that serve he won’t!!! Not at a slam!!