Day 4 of the ATP Miami Predictions: Alexander Zverev vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime
Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alexander Zverev haven’t faced off in nearly two years (quarterfinal at 2022 Madrid). On Saturday, the German, who leads the head-to-head series 5-2, will look to build on that lead. Who do you believe will win out?
With some of his most recent performances, Roberto Bautista Agut has already had a strong run, even managing to qualify and win a round.
The veteran plays a game where even a small physical deterioration could have a significant negative impact, as we have just witnessed. He’s definitely at his best on a hard court that moves quite quickly, like this one, and he’s done well to get here.
But in this particular matchup, Sebastian Korda has traditionally had no trouble attacking him, so Bautista Agut may need his opponent to have a bad day in order to continue.
Prediction: Roman Safiullin needed that first-round victory badly, as things had started to go south for him following the Australian Open. Diego Schwartzman got a fortunate draw, and he made the most of the chance. Now, he plays a seed in their area that most players would have preferred as well.
Will the Miami courts see anything like the fantastic set that Lorenzo Musetti played at Indian Wells, which got us excited for the clay season? It seems that Safiullin’s racket and level of execution will be the main focus of this one.
In contrast to Alexei Popyrin, Jiri Lehecka had an incredible run at Indian Wells, but now is the time to revisit the issue of repeatability. Can the Czechs play like this every week? His back-to-back performances against Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev were just amazing.
Given that Alexei Popyrin is undoubtedly a formidable opponent, he may already be a sign. Lehecka could have a good chance of winning if he brings at least 90% of his performance from the previous week.
After Carlos Alcaraz absolutely destroyed both players in Indian Wells last week, they will now face off in Miami. Felix Auger-Aliassime feels like he has to compete especially hard here because he needs to prove that he can challenge a bit more controllable top player.
Positively, he has already earned match points against Andrey Rublev this season. In the past, Zverev had the upper hand in this rivalry, but since their last game was two years ago, things may have changed.
