World No. 4 and No. 1 American Taylor Fritz isn’t setting the world on fire this year, but the 2023 ATP Miami quarterfinalist is still among the main contenders to do damage this week. He’ll kick off his campaign against Lorenzo Sonego, who hasn’t defeated him on hard courts yet. Who do you think will prevail?
ATP Miami Day 4 Predictions
Arthur Fils vs Gabriel Diallo
Head-to-head: 1-1
It’s an interesting matchup history with Gabriel Diallo scoring one of the best wins of his career against Arthur Fils at the US Open, but then getting demolished at this stage of the event in Indian Wells two weeks ago. The Frenchman ended up having a great run, almost taking out Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals. In quicker conditions, the match should be closer despite Diallo coming in as a lucky loser. But maybe Fils can build upon his performances from last week and finally get closer to realizing his potential.
Prediction: Fils in 3
Alexei Popyrin vs Roman Safiullin
Head-to-head: Safiullin 2-1
It’s not that long ago that Alexei Popyrin won one of these events (ATP 1000 Montreal), but his form this year isn’t quite there. In Indian Wells, he had a serious chance to get past Marcos Giron and converted just one of his fifteen break points. Not being clinical is probably a direct result of the confidence he’s missing this season. But Roman Safiullin plays an even more all-or-nothing style and hasn’t been firing on all cylinders either. It seems like this is a good opportunity for Popyrin to keep rebuilding.
Prediction: Popyrin in 3
Alex de Minaur vs Bu Yunchaokete
Head-to-head: First meeting
It’s still tough to know what to think about Bu Yunchaokete’s long-term prospects on the main tour. He hasn’t shown the quality from Beijing elsewhere, but at the same time he’s getting pretty decent wins from time to time. And yet when he ran into Daniil Medvedev in Indian Wells, he didn’t stand a chance. This might be similar. Alex de Minaur should enjoy the conditions at this venue so much more than the courts in California and will be a contender to go very deep here. For this match, he’s likely just going to be too solid.
Prediction: de Minaur in 2
Taylor Fritz vs Lorenzo Sonego
Head-to-head: 5-2
Taylor Fritz set the bar really high in the latter half of last year, becoming the most consistent player outside of the dominating Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Alexander Zverev trio. But that’s why now he probably won’t be satisfied with the results he’s getting this year. Nonetheless, he remains extremely solid and it usually takes a standout performance to take him out. Lorenzo Sonego is a little too all over the place and hasn’t been able to compete with Fritz outside clay (2-0 head-to-head on the dirt, 0-5 elsewhere).
Prediction: Fritz in 2
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
