It’s round of 16 time at the Miami Open. The matchups are set and the stakes are high. Who will get through? We preview the sweet sixteen here.

Monday, Round of 16

Top Half

[1] Serena Williams (USA #1) vs. [15] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS # 19)
Head-to-head: Williams leads, 8-2
Key Stat: The pair have gone the distance in half of their meetings to date.
Fancy an old-school throwdown between former Miami Open champions on manic Monday? Tennis fans will be treated to a battle between two of the more accomplished and entertaining champions in the tournament’s history as Serena Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova square off for the eleventh time. It’s a matchup that has been controlled by Williams but Kuznetsova has had her moments in the rivalry, too. The pair met at the round of 16 here last year, with Williams rolling to a 6-2, 6-3 victory en route to her record eighth career title at Key Biscayne. Will Williams maintain her domination of her elite foe, or will the 2006 Miami Champion produce more magic at Crandon Park?

Pick: Williams in three

[3] Agnieszka Radwanska (POL #2) vs. [19] Timea Bacsinszky (SUI #20)
Head-to-head: Bacsinszky leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Radwanska has been to the quarterfinals or better five times in Miami.
Agnieszka Radwanska has been red-hot all season, and the World No.2 leads the WTA in wins with 19. Timea Bacsinszky has a spring in her step after an invigorating performance against Ana Ivanovic in the third round in Miami. There couldn’t be a better time for these two special talents to meet. It won’t be the first time. Bacsinszky claimed an important 6-1, 6-1 victory over Radwanska in Fed Cup last April, and the Swiss will likely take confidence in that fact into Monday’s tilt. “I think I just played a really solid match and I made her doubt on what she had to do,” Bacsinszky at the time of her triumph in Poland. That was then, but what about now, against arguably the hottest player in tennis?

Pick: Radwanska in three

[12] Elina Svitolina (UKR #16) vs. [30] Ekaterina Makarova (RUS #31)
Head-to-head: Makarova leads, 3-0
Key Stat: Makarova has reached the round of 16 at Miami four times, but never the quarterfinals.
Ekaterina Makarova displayed dazzling form in taking down Petra Kvitova in straight sets in the third round on Saturday. It was the type of tennis that fans have come to know the Russian for: Strong, aggressive and confident. Could Makarova finally be rounding into top physical form after a slow start in 2016? She was in the Top-10 for six months last year but struggled and eventually pulled the plug on her season due to a lower leg injury right after the U.S. Open. Now at 31 in the world, Makarova will bid for her first Miami quarterfinal against steely Ukrainian Elina Svitolina. The 21-year-old lost all three battles with Makarova in 2015, and has never taken a set from the Russian. Could Monday be the day?

Pick: Makarova in two

[5] Simona Halep (ROU #5) vs. Heather Watson (GBR #69)
Head-to-head: Halep leads, 2-0
Key Stat: Halep needs to reach the quarterfinals to remain in the Top 5 of next week’s WTA rankings.
Simona Halep has eight wins in 2016 and six of them have come at Indian Wells and Miami. That tells us two things: One, Halep has had a difficult start to the season and, two, the Romanian is catching fire in the U.S. With her health concerns from the winter finally behind her Halep has looked like an energized player in the last few weeks. On Monday she will look to reach back-to-back Miami quarterfinals when she faces Heather Watson for the third time. Halep has won the pair’s two previous meetings but the 23-year-old Brit is playing with confidence, having won the Monterrey title in February and reached the round of 16 her for the first time.

Pick: Halep in three

Bottom Half

[2] Angelique Kerber (GER #3) vs. Timea Babos (HUN #49)
Head-to-head: Kerber leads 3-0
Key Stat: Kerber is attempting to match her career-best Miami performance by reaching the quarterfinals (2014).
Now that Angelique Kerber has won back-to-back matches for the first time since winning the Australian Open title, can we assume that Kerber is ready to start battling for big titles again? If so, she’ll have to get by a blossoming Timea Babos on Monday. The Hungarian reached the round of 16 at Miami for the first time with a 7-5, 6-0 takedown of Japan’s Naomi Osaka, and the longtime doubles star says she is thrilled to be making strides on the singles court. “Since November, I jumped around 40 spots, so it’s been a consistent improvement and I’m really happy,” Babos told WTATennis.com on Sunday. Babos owns a 1-8 lifetime record against the Top 10, and has dropped all three previous encounters with Kerber, but with a win over Karolina Pliskova under her belt at Miami, she’ll come out confident in her big-match abilities.

Pick: Kerber in two

[4] Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP #4) vs. [13] Victoria Azarenka (BLR #8)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Azarenka is one of four former Miami champions in action on Monday.
The long-awaited maiden matchup of one of the game’s rising stars and one of its tried-and-true champions will take place tomorrow on Grandstand, as Victoria Azarenka and Garbiñe Muguruza will meet for the first time. Azarenka, fresh off the Indian Wells title, has won eight in a row and 18 of 19 in 2016, and hopes to become the first woman since Kim Clijsters to capture the Indian Wells-Miami “Sunshine” Double in 2005. Muguruza has struggled at times this season, but she played unencumbered tennis in cruising past Nicole Gibbs on Sunday night. The Spaniard will look to reach the quarterfinals for the first time against a two-time champion that appears motivated to prove that she’s an elite force to be reckoned with once again. Carve out a few hours, pop your popcorn and be prepared to be entertained!

Pick: Azarenka in three

[24] Johanna Konta (GBR #23) vs. [32] Monica Niculescu (ROU #33)
Head-to-head: Niculescu leads 1-0
Key Stat: Konta is the first British woman to reach the round of 16 in Miami since 1988 (Durie).
Johanna Konta notched her best career performance at a Premier Mandatory by making the round of 16 at Indian Wells two weeks ago. On Monday Great Britain’s No.1 will try to take it a step further when she meets Monica Niculescu for the first time. Konta, ranked No.151 in the world last year, has been on the rise ever since she road a 16-match winning streak into the second week of the US Open last summer. Now the 24-year-old is closing in on the Top 20. But standing in her way is the spin doctor Monica Niculescu. The Romanian will try to throw off Konta’s rhythm with a steady diet of slice and dice. Will her plan work, or will steady Konta keep on rising?

Pick: Konta in three

[22] Madison Keys (USA #24) vs. Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU #35)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Begu is one of three Romanians in the round of 16; Keys is one of two Americans.
With Mats Wilander sitting in her coaches’ box, Madison Keys put forth one of her most impressive efforts in recent memory in taking down No.9 seed Roberta Vinci in straight sets on Sunday. Keys’ first Top-10 win in over a year featured 41 winners and served to remind everybody watching why the 21-year-old American is so highly touted by peers and pundits alike. Can Keys back up that big win when she faces Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu on Monday? The 25-year-old Romanian entered Miami with an underwhelming 1-4 record and was down 5-0 in the third set against Sabine Lisicki in the first round, but recovered to earn a career-best result here in Miami.

Pick: Keys in two

-Chris Oddo, wtennis.com contributor