The second of the men’s semifinal matches at the Miami Open pits defending champion Carlos Alcaraz against 10th seed Jannik Sinner in another sequel to their already burgeoning rivalry. Who will reach Sunday’s final?
ATP Miami Semifinal Prediction
Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner
Head-to-head: Alcaraz 4-2 Sinner
Jannik Sinner was the Miami Open’s first semifinalist after winning his quarterfinal match over 24 hours earlier. Sinner defeated surprise quarterfinalist Emil Ruusuvuori 6-3 6-1, winning a jaw-dropping 22 of 24 first-serve points. The 21-year-old Italian is among the early pacesetters in 2023. He is third on the ATP leaderboard among the players with the most match wins this season with 20.
One of those rarest accomplishments in tennis is winning the Sunshine Double. And Carlos Alcaraz is onto something even bigger at this year’s Sunshine Swing. Alcaraz would become the first player in history to sweep the March Masters without dropping a set–a feat that was beyond the reach even to previous winners such as Djokovic, Federer, and Steffi Graf. And not only that, but Alcaraz would also retain the No. 1 ranking ahead of the clay swing which begins next week should he win the tournament.
Sinner believes he is getting closer to the perfect version of the player he wants to become and enters this match with an advantage from a physical standpoint. However, Alcaraz is quickly developing into a veritable highlight reel, hardly breaking a sweat. His straight-sets dismissal of Taylor Fritz was a sumptuous display of pitch-perfect tennis from start to finish. Alcaraz came up with his full repertoire to breach the American’s defenses leaving those inside the Hard Rock Stadium utterly astonished at the quality of the shots he was able to produce under pressure. Fine margins are what the Sinner and Alcaraz rivalry has developed into. And with Sinner losing their last two high-stake clashes, he is really up against it on Friday.
Prediction: Alcaraz in 3
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
