Ricky’s preview and picks for the 2024 Miami Open

The Indian Wells Masters delivered a whole bunch of entertainment even though Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal played a combined two matches in Tennis Paradise (Djokovic two, Nadal zero). They won’t play any at the Miami Open, as Nadal never entered the tournament and Djokovic WDed following his early exit from IW (lost to Luca Nardi in the third round). Still, the second leg of the Sunshine Double will be in good hands with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
  
Here is my preview of the Miami Masters and my picks. 

Miami Open

Where: Miami, Florida 
Prize money: $8,995,555 
Top seed: Carlos Alcaraz 
Defending champion: Daniil Medvedev 

Sinner is hoping to go one step farther in Miami after losing to Daniil Medvedev in the 2023 title match. He will also be hoping to bounce back from his first loss of the season. It won’t be an easy task, however, because Sinner’s section of the draw is stacked. The Italian is likely to meet Indian Wells semifinalist Tommy Paul in the last 16 and Andrey Rublev in the quarters. This quarter is also home to Stefanos Tsitsipas, Frances Tiafoe, Matteo Berrettini, Andy Murray, Matteo Arnaldi, and Arthur Fils.
 
Another Sinner-Medvedev showdown is possible in the semis, but the latter’s road is similarly difficult. He could face Ugo Humbert in the fourth round and either Casper Ruud or Taylor Fritz in the QFs. 
 
Meanwhile, Alcaraz will begin his tournament against either Aleksandar Vukic or Roberto Carballes Baena. Things could get tough for the 20-year-old Spaniard in the third round, where Gael Monfils is a potential opponent. Ben Shelton is a possible fourth-round foe, while quarterfinal opposition could come in the form of Hubert Hurkacz, Grigor Dimitrov, or Sebastian Korda.

Alexander Zverev’s section is arguably the deepest — and really the most difficult from top to bottom. It is also home to Holger Rune, Alex de Minaur, Karen Khachanov, Jiri Lehecka, Francisco Cerundolo, and a crop of unseeded floaters that includes Felix Auger-Aliassime and Kei Nishikori.  
 
First-round matchups to watch are Murray vs. Berrettini, Fils vs. Arnaldi, Miomir Kecmanovic vs. Juncheng Shang, and Lorenzo Sonego vs. Dan Evans.

Quarterfinal picks: Carlos Alcaraz over Grigor Dimitrov, Alex de Minaur over Francisco Cerundolo, Taylor Fritz over Ugo Humbert, and Jannik Sinner over Andrey Rublev 

Semifinals: Alcaraz over De Minaur and Sinner over Fritz 

Final: Sinner over Alcaraz 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.