The second ATP Masters tournament of the year is well underway and we already have some pretty enthralling matches in Miami. The ATP Miami Open 2022 sees none of the big three competing but it’s still a highly competitive draw to navigate for anyone.
ATP Miami Day 4 Predictions
Alex de Minaur vs Jordan Thompson
Head to head – de Minaur 3-1 Thompson
Jordan Thompson overcame a stern challenge from a rejuvenated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and his reward is another tough match up with the Aussie Alex de Minaur. The Australian had a decent Indian Wells Masters tournament reaching the round of 16 before losing to the eventual champion Taylor Fritz. All in all, de Minaur has a good chance of reaching the second week here as well. While Thompson is a solid baseline player, expect de Minaur to be at his defensive best and draw out errors from Thompson regularly.
Prediction: de Minaur in 2
Roberto Bautista Agut vs Kamil Majchrzak
Head to head – First Meeting
Roberto Bautista Agut would like to put behind a disappointing Indian Wells Masters tournament and get right back on track by a strong showing here in Miami. The Spaniard is still a very solid hard court tournament contender in best of three and should be a tough opponent for anyone here. He takes on Kamil Majchrzak who isn’t in particularly good form and should be overpowered from the baseline. The Pole did win a relatively one-sided match in his first round but the Spaniard is a class above and should move on further.
Prediction: Bautista Agut in 2
Taylor Fritz vs Mikhail Kukushkin
Head to head – Fritz 2-0 Kukushkin
Newly-crowned Indian Wells Masters champion Taylor Fritz enters this tournament as the player in form. The American’s fitness is still in doubt after he himself admitted he played with a dodgy calf and it remains to be seen whether he has fully recovered. For the purpose of this prediction, we assume that Fritz has recovered and in that case he should be too strong for Mikhail Kukushkin. The American has already beaten the Kazakh twice in their previous two meetings and Fritz is an even stronger player since. Expect the American to win and progress further.
Prediction: Fritz in 2
Daniil Medvedev vs Andy Murray
Head to head – Medvedev 1-0 Murray
This is easily a must watch second-round encounter between the 2021 US Open champion in Daniil Medvedev and three-time grand slam champion in Andy Murray. These two have met once before in 2019 with the Russian winning in straight sets but it looks like this time it might be much closer. The world number two didn’t have a particularly good tournament in Indian Wells and did look out of sorts at times. However, that being said, Medvedev can become the number one player once again ifhe reaches the semifinals here and that can be motivating enough for the Russian to give his best.
Murray played a solid opening match to defeat Federico Delbonis but where the Brit’s strength lies, so does Medvedev’s. Expect a tight opening to the match but as the Russian settles into the match, Medvedev should be able to take control of the baseline rallies and dominate his serve to reach the third round.
Prediction: Medvedev in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
