Miami Open 2024 Week 2 Predictions Feat. Medvedev, Swiatek v Sakkari & Marozsan and Machac
After surprise results in the first week of the Miami Open 2024, week 2 to see the cream rise to the top.
Week 1 of the Miami Open witnessed some surprise results and we now look forward to the second week of this ATP/WTA 1000 competition.
In the men’s draw, 5th seed Andrey Rublev, 6th seed Holger Rune, 10th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, 12th seed Taylor Fritz, and 13th seed Tommy Paul have all been bundled out of the men’s Miami competition.
In the women’s draw, the second seed Aryna Sabalenka, whose former boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov died just before the start of the tournament, was the biggest casualty as she suffered a shock third-round defeat to Anhelina Kalinina.
Sixth seed Ons Jabeur, 7th seed Qinwen Zheng, 9th seed Jelena Ostapenko, 10th seed Daria Kastkina, 11th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, 12th seed Jasmine Paolini, and 15th seed Elina Svitolina were other top contenders who fell early in the tournament.
Looking ahead to week 2, we can expect a few more surprises.
However, the top seeds Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz remain on course to claim the “Sunshine Double”.
Here are a few predictions for the second week.
Photo Credit: Christian Mesiano
Azarenka Could Make It to the Semis
Three-time champion Victoria Azarenka is off to a fantastic start and given her past experience and current form, we wouldn’t be surprised to see her in the final four.
The former No. 1 knocked out Peyton Stearns 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 in the round of 64 and then she ousted Australian Open runner-up and seventh seed Qinwen Zheng 6-4, 7-5 in the third round to set up a fourth-round clash against the in-form Katie Boulter.
Azarenka has never met the Briton before, but it’s her past experience in Miami that makes us believe that she will be a slight favorite to win that match against the 24th seed Boulter, who is seeded three places above the Belarusian.
If Azarenka advances past the round of 16, she will face either Anhelina Kalinina or Yulia Putintseva in the quarterfinals.
While Kalinina is the 32nd seed and has beaten Aryna Sabalenka in the round of 32, we still believe Putintseva has a better chance of making the quarterfinals following her solid round of 16 finish at Indian Wells.
Putintseva ousted Cristina Bucșa, the 13th seed Liudmilla Samsonova, and Greet Minnen all in three sets in the first three rounds in Miami.
Prediction: We think Azarenka will meet Putintseva in the quarterfinal and will progress to the semifinal for a potential meeting with the fourth seed Elena Rybakina or eighth seed Maria Sakkari.
Can Cirstea Reach Semis Again?
Last year, Sorana Cirstea made it to the semifinals in Miami.
This year, the Romanian is once again eyeing a deep run. Seeded No. 19, Cirstea took down 2018 champion Sloane Stephens 6-2, 6-1 in the second round and then trounced 10th seed Daria Kasatkina 7-5, 6-2 in the round of 32.
She is slated to take on Danielle Collins in the round of 16. The latter herself has looked good, having knocked out Bernarda Pera, the in-form Anastasia Potapova, and Ons Jabeur-conqueror Elina Avanesyan in the first three rounds respectively.
Collins is also a past semifinalist in Miami, so an intriguing contest awaits in the last 16.
However, we think Cirstea has a better chance of making it to the last eight, simply because of the quality of players that she has beaten in this tournament and throughout the year.
She beat Caroline Garcia and Maria Sakkari in Abu Dhabi; Veronika Kudermetova and Marketa Vondrousova in Dubai, and Stephens and Kasatkina here. Expect her to make the quarterfinals.
Can she make the semis? That would be a tough one as she could be up against Cori Gauff in the last eight.
Gauff is off to a flying start, having beaten Nadia Podoroska and Oceane Dodin in straight sets. She faces a tough fourth-round opponent in Caroline Garcia as the two have split their four past meetings.
If she progresses, she will be the favorite to reach the final four stage. However, if Garcia wins, Cirstea might sense an opportunity to reach the final four for the second straight year.
Also Read:
Could We See Another Swiatek-Sakkari Final?
The top seed Iga Swiatek, who won both the Indian Wells and Miami Opens in 2022, is looking to join Steffi Graf as the only other woman to have won the Sunshine Double twice.
The Pole, who beat Maria Sakkari in the Indian Wells final last week, is off to a fine start and is looking set to go as deep as the final.
Swiatek trounced Camile Giorgi 6-1, 6-1 in the second round and then rallied from a set down to beat the 26th seed Linda Noskova 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 in the third round.
Thanks to the two wins, the world No. 1 improved her season record to 22-2 and stretched her current unbeaten run to eight matches. Can she keep the streak going?
She is the favourite and we expect her to extend the streak at least in the next three matches, which includes a fourth-round match against Ekaterina Alexandrova, a potential quarterfinal against Emma Navarro (or Jessica Pegula), and a potential semifinal against Gauff.
There is a good chance of Swiatek taking on Sakkari in the Miami final as well.
While Elena Rybakina (19-3) has one of the best records in the women’s game this season, she has struggled on her return to Miami; in contrast, Sakkari has been playing some top-quality tennis.
The two could meet in a potential quarterfinal and form may favor the Greek in that contest.
The eighth seed Sakkari knocked out Yue Yuan 6-2, 6-2 in the second round and the 28th seed Dayana Yastremska 7-5, 6-4 in the third round.
We expect her to edge out Anna Kalinskaya in the fourth round and then pull off an upset in the potential quarterfinal against Rybakina.
The fourth seed Rybakina, who pulled out of the Dubai quarterfinal and missed Indian Wells, has been a bit edgy in Miami, but she has still managed to win both her matches to stay in contention.
Rybakina rallied from a set down to beat Clara Tauson 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the second round and then held off a gallant Taylor Townsend 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 in the third round.
She faces Madison Keys in the fourth round, with the American leading 2-1 head-to-head. However, the Kazakh is expected to battle past Keys as well.
Photo Credit: si.robi
Marozsan Could Reach a Second ATP 1000 Quarterfinal
In the men’s draw, while we see defending champion Daniil Medvedev and second seed Jannik Sinner making it to the semifinals, there could be a surprise name in the top half who could be facing Carlos Alcaraz in a potential semifinal.
And that name could be of Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan.
The 24-year-old showed fine form in Indian Wells to reach the round of 16 on his debut. Now the world no. 57 is making an impact in his first ever appearance in Miami.
Marozsan knocked out America’s Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 6-2 in the first round and then handed sixth seed Rune a 6-1, 6-1 drubbing in the second round.
He faces Alexei Popyrin in the third round and Alex de Mianur in a potential fourth round. While we see him easing through his second-round opponent, he will have his task cut out against De Minaur if the two meet in the last 16.
However, Marozsan beat De Minaur on his way to Shanghai quarterfinals last year and that win may inspire him in Miami as well.
Marozsan, who beat Alcaraz in Rime last year, could face fourth seed Alexander Zverev in a potential quarterfinal and that’s where his challenge could come to an end.
However, the German has shown that he can be inconsistent at times and that may open a small window of opportunity for the Hungarian.
Prediction
Zverev v Marozsan in quarterfinals, with the latter going down fighting.
Machac Could Prevent an All-Italian Quarterfinal
Before the start of the tournament, neither Matteo Arnaldi nor Tomas Machac were expected to reach this far. But one week on, both have a realistic chance of reaching their first ever ATP 1000 final.
The two meet in the round of 16 and the winner could potentially meet Sinner in the quarterfinal. Sinner is set to face Christopher O’Connell in another unexpected fourth round contest.
So, will it be an all-Italian quarterfinal between Sinner and Arnaldi or can Machac play spoilsport for Italian fans?
We think the Czech has got a better chance here. While Arnaldi, ranked no. 38, is ranked 22 places higher than Machac, but the Czech destroyed the Italian last year in a qualifying round in Dubai, winning 6-0, 6-1.
Machac (13-6) also has a better record than Arnaldi (10-7) this year and will be high on confidence after taking down fifth seed Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4 in the second round and rallying past Andy Murray 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 in the third round.
He had begun his campaign by beating Darwin Blanch 6-4, 6-2 in the first round.
Arnaldi meanwhile is yet to drop a set in the tournament. He got into the fourth round by beating Arthur Fils, Alexander Bublik and Denis Shapovalov in the first three rounds respectively.
Prediction
Machac to oust Arnaldi and set up a quarterfinal with Sinner.
Can Medvedev Defend His Title?
Daniil Medvedev is off to a fine start. The defending champion ousted Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 6-2 and then brushed aside Cameron Norrie 7-5, 6-1 in the third round. Seeded no. 3, the Russian has improved to 16-3 and is on course to meet Jannik Sinner in a potential semifinal.
Medvedev had beaten Sinner in last year’s final and had improved his head-to-head against the Italian to 6-0 after that win. But Sinner has turned the tables recently and has won all four of their meetings since that final. So it will be extremely tough for Medvedev to beat Sinner if the two meet in the semifinals.
However, even if he does reach the final, he may have to deal with Carlos Alcaraz once again.
The top seed looked good in his only match yet and is on a 7-match winning streak. He has a 4-2 record against Medvedev and defeated the latter in the Indian Wells final.
Prediction
One of Alcaraz or Sinner to win the men’s singles title.
Are you enjoying this newsletter? If yes, we hope you can help us in one of the following ways!
Book an advert that will be featured on TennisWorldLive.substack.com by emailing me at tennisworldlive.com@gmail.com
Forward this to a tennis fan & invite them to subscribe by clicking on the button below.