A whole bunch of all-seeded showdowns are on Sunday’s Miami Masters schedule, with fourth-round spots up for grabs. Among them are Taylor Fritz vs. Denis Shapovalov and Andrey Rublev vs. Miomir Kecmanovic.
(9) Taylor Fritz vs. (24) Denis Shapovalov
Fritz is in outstanding form but should also be extremely motivated at the Miami Open after falling short at what amounts to be his hometown tournament in Indian Wells. Although a quarterfinal result at any Masters 1000 event is not bad for the 10th-ranked American, he had visions of going all the way yet again after lifting the Indian Wells trophy in 2022. Fritz now hopes to complete the career Sunshine Double in Miami, where he opened with a 6-4, 6-1 rout of compatriot Emilo Nava on Friday.
Up next for the ninth seed on Sunday afternoon is a ninth career contests against Shapovalov, who leads the head-to-head series 5-3. However, that is no cause for concern when it comes to Fritz fans. He has won three of of their last four meetings on outdoor hard courts and just made quick 6-4, 6-4 work of Shapovalov last month in Acapulco. The Canadian’s 2023 record is an alarming 6-6, so there is no reason to think anything different will happen in Miami.
Pick: Fritz in 2
(29) Miomir Kecmanovic vs. (6) Andrey Rublev
Rublev and Kecmanovic will be going head-to-head for only the second time in their careers on Sunday. Their one previous encounter came three years ago on the hard courts of Doha, where Rublev rolled 6-3, 6-1.
Even though Rublev has been all over the place so far in 2023, he likely has a big edge once again. Kecmanovic has only one strong result so far this season (runner-up to Fritz in Delray Beach) and he is coming off a third-set tiebreaker against Ugo Humbert on Friday. The 35th-ranked Serb is an aggressive baseliner who has to try to beat Rublev at his own game–and that doesn’t usually work. Rublev was a semifinalist in Miami two years ago; he should be able to make it back to at least the fourth round this time.
Pick: Rublev in 2
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