Miami SF preview and prediction: Medvedev vs. Khachanov

Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov will clash in the Miami semifinals in an all-Russian battle on Friday. The winner will go up against either Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner for the title at this Masters 1000 event.

(4) Daniil Medvedev vs. (14) Karen Khachanov

Daniil Medvedev has been one of the most consistent players of 2023. The Russian, who sits at No. 5 in the world, has won 23 of his last 24 matches. His only loss since his third-round ouster at the Australian Open has come at the hands of Carlos Alcaraz–and even that was in the final of Indian Wells against the best player in the world at the moment.

That Medvedev has distanced himself from his Russian compatriots is hard to deny. He is joined in the top 20 by Andrey Rublev (7) and his Miami Open semifinal opponent, Karen Khachanov (16), but he is the only one of the three of them who has a Grand Slam title–at the 2021 U.S. Open. He also made two Australian Open finals and an additional U.S Open final. Rublev and Khachanov have none; no slam titles, no slam finals.

Khachanov has had a bit of an unusual season. He made his way all the way to the semifinals of the Australian Open, but he had won virtually no matches since–until this week, that is. Khachanov has benefitted from a favorable draw; the only top player he faced en route to the last four was an injured Stefanos Tsitsipas. Still, a run to the semifinals of a Masters event is no small accomplishment.

Given the amount of tennis Medvedev has played in the past two months, fatigue may start to factor into his results. While the No. 4 seed holds a 3-1 head-to-head lead, Khachanov is a talented hard courter in his own right; he has semifinal results at the most recent installments of the U.S. Open and the Australian Open to prove it.

This match could prove to be more challenging than the shellacking Medvedev gave Khachanov in Adelaide earlier this year. Expect at least one competitive set in this one, with Medvedev moving through to the final.

Cheryl pick: Medvedev in 2

Ricky pick: Medvedev in 2

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