Familiar foes Andrey Rublev and Marton Fucsovics will meet again in the Miami third round on Monday. Another all-seeded affair pits Denis Shapovalov against Hubert Hurkacz–and they also just faced each other in Dubai.
(29) Marton Fucsovics vs. (4) Andrey Rublev
Rublev and Fucsovics and will be squaring off for the sixth time in their careers and for the third time this month when they renew their rivalry during third-round action at the Miami Open on Monday. Both the Rotterdam title match and a Dubai quarterfinal contest went Rublev’s way and he now holds a 3-2 lead in the head-to-head series (3-1 at the main-tour level). They were also supposed to meet in Doha, which would have made it four meetings in just a single month–but Fucsovics withdrew.
The Hungarian told Rublev following his Dubai loss that he did not want to play against him again this year, and it’s not hard to figure out why. Rublev led the ATP Tour with five titles in 2020 and he now leads the tour with 17 match wins in 2021. The eighth-ranked Russian erased Tennys Sandgren 6-1, 6-2 on Saturday, while Fucsovics needed more than three hours to get past Thanasi Kokkinakis 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 6-4. All signs point toward Rublev once again taking care of business in straight sets.
Pick: Rublev in 2
(6) Denis Shapovalov vs. (26) Hubert Hurkacz
Ironically, Shapovalov and Hurkacz also just went head-to-head in Dubai. Shapovalov prevailed 6-4, 6-3 to get on the scoreboard against Hurkacz after losing their first two encounters in 2019 (in three sets at the Indian Wells Masters and in straights at a 250 in Winston-Salem). The Canadian is a much more consistent force now at 21 years old, up to No. 11 in the world–good for the sixth seed in a depleted Miami draw. He has been mediocre so far this season but picked up a much-needed win on Saturday by outlasting Ilya Ivashka 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4.
Hurkacz kicked off his 2021 campaign with a title in Delray Beach but has struggled since. The 37th-ranked Pole is just 3-5 in his last eight matches after starting the season 6-0. He did well to dismiss Denis Kudla 7-6(5), 6-4 in his Miami opener, but a steep step up in competition will likely put Hurkacz back in the losers’ circle.
Pick: Shapovalov in 2
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