By Tony Fairbairn
- Novak Djokovic [4] v Lorenzo Musetti [15]
- Aryna Sabalenka [1] v Qinwen Zheng [9]
- Alex De Minaur [10] v Matteo Berrettini [29]
- Jasmine Paolini [6] v Magda Linette
MIAMI, USA – Novak Djokovic takes on Lorenzo Musetti for a place in the quarter-finals while the women’s quarter-finals begin at the Miami Open.
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Novak Djokovic [4] v Lorenzo Musetti [15] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Novak Djokovic [4] v Lorenzo Musetti [15] | H2H: Djokovic leads 7-1 |
| Miami Open 2025 | Miami, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $103,225 |
| Third on Stadium (19:30 GMT) | Sky/Now TV <- Subscription Required |
After an underwhelming last couple of months by his standards, Novak Djokovic has earned some confidence in Miami to book his place in the fourth round. The Serb has shown signs of improvement as he aims to regain his Grand Slam winning form ahead of the clay court season. However, Djokovic knows he has a long way to go in order to consistently challenge for titles and will now aim to take advantage of an opportunistic draw to create more history in Florida.
Next up for Djokovic will be the highly improved Lorenzo Musetti. The powerful Italian edged past Felix Auger-Aliassime to move into the last 16 in Miami and is hoping that win can take him to new heights this season. It has been a disappointing start to the season for the 15th seed as he knows if he wants to challenge for the latter stages of big events he needs to produce his best tennis when it matters most. Now he looks to prove that and reach the quarter-finals in Miami.
Djokovic is hoping to be aggressive on serve as he will use the forehand to extend the rallies and make this match a war of attrition. Meanwhile Musetti will use the backhand to create angles in order to hit efficient winners. This will be an entertaining match with Djokovic’s experience and quality seeing him edge past an inspired Musetti.
Prediction: Djokovic in three sets.
Aryna Sabalenka [1] v Qinwen Zheng [9] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Aryna Sabalenka [1] v Qinwen Zheng [9] | H2H: Sabalenka leads 5-0 |
| Miami Open 2025 | Miami, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $189,075 |
| Fourth on Stadium (Not before 23:00 GMT) | Sky/Now TV <- Subscription Required |
A dominant performance from world number one Aryna Sabalenka as she ended Danielle Collins’ title defence in Miami. After a poor run of form after the Australian Open, Sabalenka has now stepped up her game when it matters most winning eight of her last nine matches in Indian Wells and Miami. Ahead of the clay court season, it is imperative that Sabalenka builds some last minute momentum and Miami would be the perfect location to do that given her previous record on hard courts at big tournaments.
The next obstacle for Sabalenka is a familiar foe in the form of Qinwen Zheng. Last year’s Australian Open and WTA Finals finalist had produced an underwhelming start to the season but has now secured three victories in Indian Wells and three victories in Miami. There is no doubting Zheng’s talent and qualities but the Chinese number one has not stepped up to the plate when facing the world’s best players and now needs to prove that in order to make the next step in her career.
Sabalenka aims to dominate the match with her serve as she will use the forehand to pin Zheng behind the baseline. Meanwhile Zheng will use her movement to play transition tennis and turn defence into attack. While Zheng can certainly test Sabalenka, the world number one loves this match and she should prevail once again.
Prediction: Sabalenka in straight sets.
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Alex De Minaur [10] v Matteo Berrettini H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Alex De Minaur [10] v Matteo Berrettini | H2H: Berrettini leads 2-1 |
| Miami Open 2025 | Miami, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $103,225 |
| Fourth on Grandstand (Not before 20:00 GMT) | Sky/Now TV <- Subscription Required |
It was a resilient win for Alex De Minaur as the Australian overcame the Brazilian crowd and the talented Joao Fonseca to progress to the last 16. The tenth seed showed guts and consistency as he showed the Brazilian youngster that he has a lot to learn yet. It has been a very good season for De Minaur who continues to show he belongs at the top of the sport. Now De Minaur targets another deep run at a big tournament as he bids to continue his increased stock.
A big test awaits De Minaur in the form of Italian powerhouse Matteo Berrettini. The Italian has had an underrated season with some big wins as he has consistently produced decent results. However, the Italian has had no outstanding results yet as the world number 30 has yet to string his game together when it matters at latter stages in tournaments. In order to rise up the rankings, Berrettini will need to do that and will start that bid by reaching the Miami quarter-finals.
De Minaur will aim to continue his aggressive serving as he will use the forehand to push Berrettini behind the baseline. Meanwhile Berrettini will use the backhand to set up shorter balls in order to attack the net. The late finish for De Minaur may work against him as Berrettini’s power and energy should see him to another big win this season.
Prediction: De Minaur in three sets.
Jasmine Paolini [6] v Magda Linette H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Jasmine Paolini [6] v Magda Linette | H2H: Linette leads 2-1 |
| Miami Open 2025 | Miami, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $189,075 |
| Second on Stadium (Not before 18:00 GMT) | Sky/Now TV <- Subscription Required |
After a frustrating start to the season, Paolini will be relieved to be in another big quarter-final. The Italian reached two Grand Slam finals last year but has failed to live up to expectations this season. However, a big win over former champion Naomi Osaka may be the boost that Paolini needs to kickstart her season as she looks for another deep run at a big tournament. The question is has Paolini got the poise and consistency to hold her nerve in Florida?
That will be put to the test against an opponent she has struggled against in recent times in the form of Magda Linette. It was a few years ago that Linette reached her first Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open but the Pole struggled to back that up and went back down the rankings. However, a massive win over Coco Gauff could revive Linette’s career as she is now back into a WTA 1000 quarter-final and targets more success in the near future.
Paolini will need to be aggressive on the forehand as she looks to pin Linette behind the baseline. Meanwhile Linette will look to be aggressive on serve and use the backhand to force tactical errors from Paolini. This will be a good contest and a test to see if Paolini’s form has really revived or whether it’s back to the basics for the Italian ahead of the clay court season.
Prediction: Linette in three sets.
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