Miami Open 2022: Daniil Medvedev vs Jenson Brooksby preview, head-to-head and prediction
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Daniil Medvedev vs Jenson Brooksby
Date: 29 March 2022
Tournament: Miami Open
Round: Fourth round (Round of 16)
Venue: Miami, Florida, USA
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt
Prize money: $8,584,055
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Voot
Daniil Medvedev vs Jenson Brooksby preview
Top seed Daniil Medvedev will square off against Jenson Brooksby in the fourth round of the Miami Masters on Tuesday. The Russian started the season at the ATP Cup and helped his nation to the semifinals, winning three out of his four singles matches in the competition.
Medvedev then reached the final of the Australian Open after beating Henri Laaksonen, Nick Kyrgios, Botic van de Zandschulp, Maxime Cressy, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Stefanos Tsitsipas. However, he lost to Rafael Nadal in the final after leading the Spaniard by two sets to love.
The 26-year-old then competed at the Mexican Open and reached the semifinals where he was once again beaten by the King of Clay.
Medvedev headed to Indian Wells as the top seed and beat Tomas Machac in his opening match. But the Russian was eliminated by Gael Monfils in the third round, despite winning the first set.
The World No. 2 started his campaign at the Miami Masters with a win over Andy Murray. He then defeated Pedro Martinez in straight sets to book his place in the fourth round of the competition.
Top seed Daniil Medvedev takes another step closer to regaining World No.1 position 🔥
The Russian star beats Spain's Pedro Martinez in straight sets to reach the last 16 💪
#DaniilMedvedev #PedroMartinez #Miami #Tennis https://t.co/A32a9FZZMP
Brooksby's first ATP tournament of the year was the Dallas Open, where he reached the final after wins over Andreas Seppi, Jordan Thompson and Marcos Giron. The American fell at the final hurdle to compatriot Reilly Opelka.
The 21-year-old suffered an opening-round exit at the Mexican Open in a hard-fought encounter against Alexander Zverev. Brooksby then competed at the Indian Wells Masters and reached the third round after beating Roberto Carballes Baena and Karen Khachanov. He stunned fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the fourth round before losing to Cameron Norrie.
The American then headed to Miami and started with a win over Federico Coria. He dispatched Nikoloz Basilashvili in straight sets to reach the third round where he was up against 15th seed Roberto Bautista Agut. Brooksby beat the Spaniard 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in a thrilling contest to reach the last 16. The American won six straight games after going down 4-0 in the decider.
MIA-MIRACULOUS 😳
Jenson Brooksby comes back from 0-4 down in the final set to defeat Bautista Agut 6-3 5-7 6-4 in Miami!
#MiamiOpen https://t.co/4mVjcCCIvr
Daniil Medvedev vs Jenson Brooksby head-to-head
Tuesday's match in Miami will be the first meeting between Medvedev and Brooksby, so the head-to-head currently stands at 0-0. The winner will meet either Hubert Hurkacz or Lloyd Harris in the quarterfinals.
Daniil Medvedev vs Jenson Brooksby prediction
Medvedev will enter the match as the heavy favorite, but Brooksby's recent performances have made a lot of people sit up and take notice.
The American has won nine out of 12 matches this season, with five of those coming against higher-ranked opponents. He has had two matches against top-10 players, beating Tsitsipas and losing narrowly to Zverev.
Medvedev has been solid this season, albeit without managing to lift a title. The Russian has no weaknesses in his game. He possesses a strong serve and long, flat groundstrokes. He uses his incredible court sense to move the ball around, creating angles that are difficult to deal with.
Brooksby might only be 21 but barring the racket-smash incident in the first round in Miami, he has shown maturity beyond his years. His game is ideally suited to cope with Medvedev's ground strokes and court coverage. If the American can maintain a high first serve percentage, he might be able to put Medvedev under some pressure.
Brooksby is a star in the making and is no pushover, especially at home. Having said that, the Russian might just have too much in the tank for the youngster.
Prediction: Daniil Medvedev to win in straight sets.