Frances Tiafoe over Lorenzo Sonego
The American has had some dramatic matches, this year, and during each set, he puts together his awesome strokes. However, he can forget his control, and then he loses, which means that if he wants to go into the top 10, he has to shift some new things. The Italian Sonego has put together some fun wins, and two years ago, he almost cracked the top 20, but he could not, and perhaps he doesn’t have enough depth. He can knock back his forehand and his backhand, but to really go for it, then he has to take some risks. He won’t in Miami, and Tiafoe will win it in two decent sets.
Gregoire Barrere over Christopher Eubanks
Believe it or not, the American has yet to reach the top 100, but if he can win a few more matches, then he will be there. Eubanks actually had a good fall, winning lots of matches, and yes, it wasn’t beating the very good players, but pretty decent. Perhaps the 26-year-old is now more thoughtful, on the court, and he is growing up. The veteran Barrere has been playing for a pretty long time, and the Frenchman has been decent, but the 29-year-old has yet to reach the to 50. Everyone wants to, to win an event, anywhere, anytime. However, even to reach the top 30, he has to upgrade much more. This season, though, Barrere took down John Isner and David Goffin. That was impressive, and Barrere will defeat Eubanks in two long sets.
Sorana Cirstea over Marketa Vondrousova
The Romanian had a dusty year at Indian Wells, upsetting Madison Keys and Caroline Garcia. On the hardcourts, Cirstea sprinted forward, instead of just pushing the ball back. Since she is 32-years-old, she does know that soon, she will retire in a few years, so she decided to charge whenever she can. Another Czech, Vondrousova, has been very respectable this year, knocking down Ons Jabeur. Yes, there are so many very good Czech players, so she will have to Improve a huge amount. This is almost a toss up, because Vondrousova can blast the ball, but Cirstea will be steady again, and she will win it in three sets, possible in three hours. They will be super tired, that is for sure.
SIX QUICK PICKS
Jessica Pegula over Magda Linette
Will Jessica Pegula actually win a huge event at the United States? Perhaps, but Magda Linette is very confident, but the American will win in three.
Felix Auger-Aliassime over Francisco Cerundolo
Last year, Felix Auger-Aliassime was rising fast, but now he has been decent, but not fantastic, so against the very good player, Francisco Cerundolo, Auger-Aliassime win it in three long sets.
Bianca Andressscu over Ekaterina Alexandrova
We never know what Bianca Andreescu will do on court, but over the past three weeks, she was running all the time, and she did not get tired. She is on fire, so she will edge against Ekaterina Alexandrova, another very good player, but the Canadian is on fire.
Sunday picks
Correct: Jannik Sinner over Grigor Dimitrov
Correct: Taylor Fritz over Denis Shapovalov
Correct: Barbora Krejcikova over Madison Keys
Matt’s Miami picks
10 out of 15: 66.7% correct