Miami Open 2022: Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Alex de Minaur preview, head-to-head and prediction
Match Details
Fixture: (3) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs (25) Alex de Minaur
Date: 28 March 2022
Tournament: Miami Open
Round: Third round (Round of 32)
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
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Alex de Minaur preview
Third seed Stefanos Tsitsiipas will take on 15th seed Alex de Minaur in the third round of the Miami Masters on Monday.
Following a disappointing ATP Cup campaign in which he won only one match, Tsitsipas bounced back in the Australian Open, reaching the semifinals before losing to Daniil Medvedev in four sets.
Tsitsipas was the top seed at the Rotterdam Open and reached the final. He was beaten by Felix Auger-Aliassime, who won his first career title at the event.
The 23-year-old then reached the quarterfinals of the Open 13 but lost to Roman Safiullin. Tsitsipas entered the Mexican Open and got to the semifinals after beating Laslo Djere, JJ Wolf and Marcos Giron. However, he was beaten by Cameron Norrie in straight sets.
The Greek then suffered a third-round exit at Indian Wells after losing to Jenson Brooksby in a tight three-set match.
Tsitsipas launched his Miami Open campaign with a hard-fought win over J.J. Wolf in an Acapulco rematch.
Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas needed 3 sets but managed to get past John Wolf 💪
#StefanosTsitsipas #Miami #Tennis https://t.co/4FIBGEG4U1
De Minaur started the year with a good display in the ATP Cup, winning two out of three singles matches. He then reached the fourth round of the Australian Open after wins over Lorenzo Musetti, Kamil Majchrzak and Pablo Andujar. He lost to Jannik Sinner in the last 16.
The Australian then reached the quarterfinals of the Rotterdam Open but lost to Tsitsipas. After suffering a first-round exit in Dubai, De Minaur reached the fourth round of Indian Wells after beating John Millman and Tommy Paul. He lost to eventual champion Taylor Fritz.
De Minaur then entered the Miami Open and beat Jordan Thompson in straight sets.
World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas beat J. J. Wolf in the second round of #MiamiOpen 6-4, 6-7, 6-1.
🇬🇷 World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas beat J. J. Wolf in the second round of #MiamiOpen 6-4, 6-7, 6-1.
For the Greek, this victory became the 50th in his career at the level of Masters. He will next face 25th seed Alex de Minaur, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Jordan Thompson. https://t.co/MOcKr0eC4c
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Alex de Minaur head-to-head
Monday's match in Miami will be the eighth meeting between Tsitsipas and De Minaur. The Greek has won all of their previous seven matches. They met in the quarterfinals of the Rotterdam Open this year with Tsitsipas winning 6-4, 6-4.
The winner of the match will face either Marin Cilic or Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Alex de Minaur prediction
Tsitsipas will enter the match as the favorite to win but De Minaur cannot be written off. The Australian does not have the most impressive of records this year at 11-5 but has produced some good tennis lately. He also managed a win over a top-10 player in Matteo Berrettini.
Tsitsipas will look to be aggressive from the start. Tsitsipas will rely heavily on his serve to win cheap points. The Greek has served an average of 6.5 aces across his last 10 matches and will look to up those numbers on Monday. Tsitsipas' forehand is one of the best in the world, but his single-handed backhand often crumbles when targetted repeatedly, especially on serve.
De Minaur's speed and movement is among the best on tour and his counterpunching skills, while adequate otherwise will need to be on a higher ceiling against Tsitsipas. He will need to try and extend rallies to force Tsitsipas into errors and play a bit more aggressively to win points on the trot.
De Minaur can put up a fight but the Greek should be able to come out on top and reach the fourth round of the Miami Masters.
Prediction: Tsitsipas to win in three sets.