Quarterfinal competition at the Miami Masters concludes on Thursday, when No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner faces Frances Tiafoe. Francisco Cerundolo tries to keep his latest run going against Alexander Zverev.
(19) Frances Tiafoe vs. (2) Jannik Sinner
With Carlos Alcaraz and a whole host of other top-10 players out of the tournament, Sinner is a massive favorite to win a second consecutive Miami Open title (he won it in 2024 before missing last year’s event due to suspension). Sinner has had no trouble avoiding the upset bug, defeating Damir Dzumhur, Cotentin Moutet, and Alex Michelsen — although the Italian was pushed 7-5, 7-6(4) by Michelsen.
Tiafoe, on the other hand, took the scenic route to the last eight in South Beach — setting up a sixth showdown against Sinner on Thursday. After dismissing Arthur Cazaux 7-6(1), 6-1, the 20th-ranked American saved two match points to beat defending champion Jakub Mensik 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(11) and then held off Terence Atmane 6-4, 1-6, 6-4. Tiafoe got the best of Sinner at the 2021 Vienna event, but the world No. 2 leads their head-to-head series 4-1 after most recently prevailing 7-6(4), 6-2 in the 2024 Cincinnati final. Anything other than another straight-set win for Sinner would be a big surprise.
Pick: Sinner in 2
(18) Francisco Cerundolo vs. (3) Alexander Zverev
Zverev and Cerundolo will be going head-to-head for the seventh time in their careers on Thursday. They have split their seven previous meetings at three wins apiece, but that hardly tells the real story. Since losing their first three encounters, Zverev has not dropped a single set to Cerundolo. They have already faced each other once in 2026, when the German cruised 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 in round four of the Australian Open.
Cerundolo is quite simply incredible in Miami. This is his fifth appearance and fourth trip to the quarterfinals — including a semifinal performance in 2022. However, the setting probably doesn’t offset the Argentine’s overall struggles against top players. Yes, he has defeated Zverev three times before — but all of those were on clay. Cerundolo has never beaten a top-five opponent other than Zverev and Casper Ruud. Zverev is coming off a semifinal result in Indian Wells and he should advance to at least the same stage on leg two of the Sunshine Double.
Pick: Zverev in 2
WWW?
Agreed
Sinner and Zverev in two , 64 64 and 76 76
Of course, we have to thank a player for his ‘Meddling’ , he would almost certainly have beaten Zverev
How certain are you about those two tiebreaks, Big Al?
Wow, didn’t Zverev have an above average match this evening!
And while its goodbye for Foe , he deserves mention again for his amazing water bottle
he really does
Imagine what he could achieve if he first hit his opponent on the head with it.😈
It looks just like a Kelly kettle
Maybe he takes it camping with him on the off-season.🏕️