By Tony Fairbairn
- After returning to world number one, Carlos Alcaraz looks to complete the sunshine double and defend his Miami Open title.
- Top Seeds: Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Daniil Medvedev
- British Interest: Cameron Norrie [11], Dan Evans [23], Andy Murray, Kyle Edmund [PR]
MIAMI, USA – New world number one Carlos Alcaraz looks to complete the sunshine double in Miami as he looks to defend the title against strong competition.
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[1] Carlos Alcaraz
Best Result: Champion (2022)
After returning to the world number one spot by winning the title at Indian Wells, Alcaraz will look to continue his confident form as he looks to complete the sunshine double and defend his Miami Open title.
Alcaraz’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: Bye | H2H: N/A
- R2: Facundo Bagnis | H2H: Alcaraz leads 1-0
- R3: Maxime Cressy [30] | H2H: First Meeting
- R4: Tommy Paul [16] | H2H: Paul leads 1-0
- QF: Holger Rune [7] | H2H: Tied at 1-1
- SF: Casper Ruud [3] | H2H: Alcaraz leads 3-0
- F: Stefanos Tsitsipas [2] | H2H: Alcaraz leads 3-0
It’s an exciting draw for Alcaraz even if there are some potentially dangerous matches for the Spaniard. A potential third round match with Andy Murray could be followed up by a last 16 clash with Tommy Paul who beat Alcaraz in Canada last year. A clash of the next generation could then follow in the quarter-finals against Holger Rune with both players not lacking in confidence or consistency at the moment. There are a lot of mouth-watering matches for Alcaraz to look forward to but in the Spaniard’s current form there is no stand out player that can upset the Spaniard as he looks forward to his first Masters 1000 title defence of his career.
[2] Stefanos Tsitsipas
Best Result: Quarter-Final (2021)
After losing his opening match last week, Tsitsipas will be looking to make amends as he looks to build momentum towards the clay court swing.
Tsitsipas’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: Bye | H2H: N/A
- R2: Richard Gasquet | H2H: Tied at 1-1
- R3: Sebastian Baez [27] | H2H: Tsitsipas leads 1-0
- R4: Karen Khachanov [14] | H2H: Tsitsipas leads 6-0
- QF: Felix Auger-Aliassime [5] | H2H: Tsitsipas leads 5-3
- SF: Daniil Medvedev [4] | H2H: Medvedev leads 7-4
- F: Carlos Alcaraz [1] | H2H: Alcaraz leads 3-0
If Tsitsipas isn’t on his game then an opening round exit could await again as Richard Gasquet has been playing great tennis this season and is the type of player that can take advantage of Tsitsipas’ lack of form. After that, the draw is a favourable one for the second seed as he looks to get match wins under his belt with a handful of ranking points to defend on the European clay courts. A run to another Miami Open quarter-final would be classified as a successful tournament for Tsitsipas as building up confidence is the key for Tsitsipas in Florida this week.
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[3] Casper Ruud
Best Results: Finalist (2022)
Ruud will look to be inspired from his run to the final last year after once again failing to win back-to-back matches in Indian Wells last week.
Ruud’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: Bye | H2H: N/A
- R2: Ilya Ivashka | H2H: First Meeting
- R3: Botic Van De Zandschulp [26] | H2H: Van De Zandschulp leads 2-1
- R4: Alexander Zverev [13] | H2H: Zverev leads 2-1
- QF: Andrey Rublev [6] | H2H: Rublev leads 4-2
- SF: Carlos Alcaraz [1] | H2H: Alcaraz leads 3-0
- F: Stefanos Tsitsipas [2] | H2H: Tied at 1-1
Ruud has been handed a tough draw with Ilya Ivashka and Botic Van De Zandschulp fancying their chances on the faster Miami hard courts. Should the Norwegian finally win back-to-back-matches this season then he will face the likes of Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev who like to be aggressive from the baseline and will test Ruud’s defensive skills. Overall, this isn’t a draw that Ruud can gradually improve his form and confidence from with another early exit looking likely unless there is a severe improvement in his game.
[4] Daniil Medvedev
Best Result: Quarter-Final (2021, 2022)
Medvedev’s 19 match winning streak came to an end in the Indian Wells final but the fourth seed will be full of confidence that he can win a fourth ATP title of the season in Miami.
Medvedev’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: Bye | H2H: N/A
- R2: Bernabe Zapata Miralles | H2H: First Meeting
- R3: Yoshihito Nishioka [28] | H2H: Medvedev leads 1-0
- R4: Alex De Minaur [15] | H2H: Medvedev leads 4-1
- QF: Hubert Hurkacz [8] | H2H: Hurkacz leads 3-2
- SF: Stefanos Tsitsipas [2] | H2H: Medvedev leads 7-4
- F: Carlos Alcaraz [1] | H2H: Tied at 1-1
Considering the conditions in Miami, Medvedev’s route to the quarter-finals should be easy for the fourth seed especially given his current confidence. However a last eight meeting with Hubert Hurkacz will be Medvedev’s toughest test of the week with the Pole traditionally doing well in Florida. Should Medvedev get past that obstacle than another final with Alcaraz could be set with Medvedev looking to gain revenge after a one-sided final in California.
The men’s tournament in Miami takes place betwen 22 March to 2 April.
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