On paper at least, Alexander Zverev vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime is the marquee matchup of the Miami second round. Saturday’s schedule also includes a showdown between Sebastian Korda and qualifier Roberto Bautista Agut.
(4) Alexander Zverev vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime
Zverev and Auger-Aliassime will be squaring off for the eighth time in their careers when they collide in round two of the Miami Open on Saturday. The head-to-head series stands at 5-2 in Zverev’s favor, including 3-1 on hard courts (1-1 outdoors). They have not faced each other since a quarterfinal contest at the 2022 Madrid Masters, where the German prevailed 6-3, 7-5.
It has mostly been downhill since then for Auger-Aliassime, aside from back-to-back titles in Basel. The 23-year-old Canadian is just 8-7 this season and has plunged to No. 36 in the world, which prevented him from getting a bye in Miami. Auger-Aliassime earned his place in the last 64 by defeating Adam Walton 7-5, 6-4 on Thursday. Zverev is 14-5 this year, is a former runner-up at the Miami Masters (2018), and is coming off a quarterfinal performance in Indian Wells. The No. 4 seed should win this in relatively routine fashion.
Pick: Zverev in 2
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(28) Sebastian Korda vs. (Q) Roberto Bautista Agut
At 35 years old and ranked 100th in the world, Bautista Agut will take any success he can get these days. Simply qualifying for the main draw and advancing to the second round is a big result for the Spaniard. After knocking off Benjamin Hassan and Otto Virtanen in qualies, Bautista Agut beat fellow qualifier Emilio Nava 6-3, 7-6(4) on Thursday.
Unfortunately for the veteran, he has not enjoyed a favorable matchup with Korda. The 23-year-old American is sweeping the head-to-head series 3-0 and has won six of their seven total sets. Korda’s most recent victory came via a 6-4, 6-4 decision at the season-opening event in Adelaide in 2023. The world No. 29 is a decent 9-7 for his 2024 campaign and has played pretty well in his last two events–reaching the Dubai quarterfinals and defeating Roman Safiullin in Indian Wells before losing a tight three-setter to Daniil Medvedev. Nothing suggests that Bautista Agut will suddenly turn the tide and pull off an upset.
Pick: Korda in 2
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