By Tony Fairbairn
- Elena Rybakina [10] v Martina Trevisan [25]
- Carlos Alcaraz [1] v Tommy Paul [16]
- Jessica Pegula [3] v Anastasia Potapova [27]
MIAMI, USA – Elena Rybakina is looking to make her second consecutive WTA semi-final as Carlos Alcaraz and Tommy Paul collide for a spot in the quarter-finals of the men’s tournament.
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Elena Rybakina [10] v Martina Trevisan [25] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Elena Rybakina [10] v Martina Trevisan [25] | H2H: First Meeting |
| Miami Open 2023 | Miami, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $184,465 |
| Second on Stadium Court (Not before 19:00 BST) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Elena Rybakina cannot stop winning as she secured an 11th consecutive victory after defeating Elise Mertens to reach the last eight in Miami. The Kazakh is turning into one of the most reliable players on the tour as she looks to challenge tennis’ elite on a regular basis at big events. Another victory for Rybakina would see her reach a second consecutive WTA semi-final which usually results in the tenth seed reaching the final. Now Rybakina looks for one last bit of momentum heading into the clay court season.
Standing in Rybakina’s way of back-to-back semi-finals is Martina Trevisan who has produced a surprising run to reach the last eight. The Italian produced a stunning win over Jelena Ostapenko as she proved that she isn’t a one surface player and that she can produce good results on hard courts as well as clay courts. This run has come out of nowhere having won only three matches this season before Miami and now Trevisan is looking to capitalise on her recent form as she heads into the clay court season with confidence.
Rybakina will look to continue serve consistently well while dominating the tempo of rallies through her forehand. Meanwhile Trevisan will look to play counter-attacking tennis through her agility and defensive variety. The Italian will need to produce quality returning in order to win this match but even that might not be enough against an in-form Rybakina.
Prediction: Rybakina in straight sets.
Carlos Alcaraz [1] v Tommy Paul [16] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Carlos Alcaraz [1] v Tommy Paul [16] | H2H: Paul leads 1-0 |
| Miami Open 2023 | Miami, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $96,955 |
| Third on Stadium Court (20:30 BST) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Carlos Alcaraz continues to cruise through the opposition as he looks to defend his Miami Open title that he won last year. The Spaniard already claimed the Indian Wells title by beating an in-form Daniil Medvedev and Alcaraz will be looking to add more momentum and confidence to his collection ahead of the clay court season. Having only conceded eight games in his opening two games, Alcaraz will surely be the favourite to retain his title and extend his lead at the top of the ATP rankings.
However a big obstacle stands in Alcaraz’s way as the world number one takes on Tommy Paul in the last 16. The American continues to solidify himself as a consistent top 20 player with his agility and aggression in transition causing many players problems as his opponents struggle to break down his resilient defence. Now Paul aims to repeat his success from Toronto last year and upset the world number one.
Alcaraz will look to continue to be consistently aggressive with his quality on serve being the key difference between him winning and losing the match. Meanwhile Paul will look to attack the Alcaraz second serve and use his defensive variety to neutralise the power of Alcaraz in order to finish points off on his terms. This should be a highly competitive match which will test Alcaraz’s rally tolerance and ability to be consistently aggressive against elite defensive skills. However the Spaniard’s confidence should lift him to victory and a place in the last eight.
Prediction: Alcaraz in three sets.
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Jessica Pegula [3] v Anastasia Potapova [27] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Jessica Pegula [3] v Anastasia Potapova [27] | H2H: Pegula leads 3-0 |
| Miami Open 2023 | Miami, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $184,465 |
| Fourth on Stadium Court (Not before Midnight BST) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Jessica Pegula is into the quarter-finals of the Miami Open after another convincing victory this time over Australian Open semi-finalist Magda Linette. The American would have been pleased to reach the last eight after failing to do so at Indian Wells and now has her sights on a second WTA 1000 title in the space of five months. The American’s consistency is now starting to earn its rewards and if the American can keep being aggressive and proactive in key moments then she can become a consistent Grand Slam contender in 2023.
Pegula’s mission for the Miami Open title now has to go through in-form 27th seed Anastasia Potapova. Potapova has made great strides in 2023 having already won a title in Linz, Potapova has already backed that up with wins over Marta Kostyuk and Coco Gauff in Miami this week. The 21 year-old has added a new-found consistency to her aggressive game as she looks to climb inside the world’s top 20 and become a regular fixture in the latter stages of big tournaments.
Both players will look to be consistent from the baseline but this match will be won on serve with both players struggling for consistency when they met last week at Indian Wells. Just like last week Pegula’s variety and big tennis under pressure should see her through this match although Potapova will look to make it as difficult as possible with her aggressive style of play.
Prediction: Pegula in three sets.
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