Medvedev And Murray To Meet In Miami?

Daniil Medvedev has a path back to World No. 1 at the Miami Open presented by Itau, but Monday’s draw has presented the 26-year-old with several tricky roadblocks in Florida.

The top seed faces a potential second-round matchup at the ATP Masters 1000 event with another former World No. 1 in the form of Andy Murray. Medvedev can take heart from the pair’s only previous meeting, however, as he beat the Brit in straight sets in Brisbane in 2019.

Murray has always enjoyed the conditions in Miami and took the title there in 2009 and 2013 when the tournament was played at Key Biscayne, but he opens up against another player he has never beaten, Federico Delbonis. The Argentine beat Murray in the pair’s only previous encounter at the 2016 BNP Paribas Open.

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Medvedev ’s best performance in Miami is his 2021 quarter-final run, but he will need to go a step further than that this time around if he wants to overhaul Novak Djokovic’s lead at the top of the ATP Rankings. 27th seed Cristian Garin is a potential third-round opponent, while dangerous American talent Jenson Brooksby or Doha champion Roberto Bautista Agut could await in the fourth round.

Defending champion Hubert Hurkacz also lies in Medvedev’s quarter of the draw. The Pole will begin his title defence against either Laslo Djere or Arthur Rinderknech, with a potentially tasty fourth-round meeting awaiting with 12th seed Denis Shapovalov.

Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas headlines the second quarter of the draw, the Greek hunting his first ATP Tour title of 2022. The closest he has come this year was a run to the final in Rotterdam where he lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime, and the pair could face each other again in the quarter-finals at Hard Rock Stadium. Tsitsipas faces Germany’s Daniel Altmaier or a qualifier in his second-round match, while Auger-Aliassime faces Indian Wells quarter-finalist Miomir Kecmanovic or a qualifier.

Two in-form players who might have something to say about a Tsitsipas vs. Auger-Aliassime quarter-final are Taylor Fritz and Carlos Alcaraz. Fritz became the first man to beat Rafael Nadal in 2022 as he clinched the BNP Paribas Open title on Sunday, and he takes on either Botic van de Zandschulp or a qualifier with Auger-Aliassime a potential quarter-final opponent.

Alcaraz also trod new ground in California, reaching his first Masters 1000 semi-final before falling in a three-set thriller to Nadal. The reigning Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion seeks his first win in Miami against either Marton Fucsovics or Marcos Giron and is a potential fourth-round opponent for Tsitsipas.

Andrey Rublev had a 13-match winning streak ended by Fritz in Indian Wells, and Nick Kyrgios could await the 2021 semi-finalist in the second round as he looks to get another red-hot run going. Wild card Kyrgios, a two-time semi-finalist in Miami, must first overcome Adrian Mannarino to set the clash with Rublev, with whom he shares a 1-1 ATP Head2Head series record.

The Italian charge will be led by Matteo Berrettini and 2021 finalist Jannik Sinner. Fourth seed Berrettini faces Dusan Lajovic or #NextGenATP star Juan Manuel Cerundolo as he seeks a maiden Miami win on his second appearance at the tournament. Sinner has not been past the fourth round at any other Masters 1000 event but almost went all the way in Miami last year before being edged out by Hurkacz. The 20-year-old meets exciting Finn Emil Ruusuvuori or the serve-and-volley game of Maxime Cressy in the second round.

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Sixth-seeded Casper Ruud will take on either Henri Laaksonen or Benoit Paire as he chases a maiden main-draw win in Miami, while there is also a potential all-British second-round clash between 10th seed Cameron Norrie and wild card Jack Draper, who has already won three ATP Challenger Tour titles in 2022 and chases a first Masters 1000 win against Frenchman Gilles Simon, who is two victories shy of 500 match wins.

Rounding out the bottom half of the draw is third seed Alexander Zverev, who faces a qualifier or Borna Coric in the second round. Coric, who recently returned to the tour after an extended period out with a shoulder injury, is a two-time quarter-finalist in Miami.