Miami Masters - Quarterfinal (Day 2) Predictions

Grigor Dimitrov and Carlos Alcaraz face off in a mouthwatering quarterfinal clash in Miami Gardens

Zverev vs Marozsan

Fabian Marozsan has proven to be a real giant-killer across the last year, especially when it comes to Masters 1000 tournaments. The streaky Hungarian often leaves his best for the Masters series, and comes into his quarterfinal matchup against Zverev red-hot and looming. Maroszan already picked up his second top ten victory a couple of rounds ago against Holger Rune in a 59-minute demolition job, and backed this triumph up with another. After clinching a tight first set against Alex de Minaur, who is enjoying the best year of his career so far, things fell apart in the second; the newly coronated top ten member struck back to take the second 6-0. But Marozsan had other ideas. He wrestled back any lost momentum and closed out the third set surprisingly quickly at 6-1, stampeding his way into his second Masters quarterfinal and toppling yet another top ten opponent on the way. The unseeded player put together a no-nonsense display of clean, fluid baseline play and dazzling volleys to overpower the Aussie. But don't let Fabian's ranking fool you - the Hungarian has been ruthless so far in Miami.

Sascha Zverev will look to keep his guard up against this mysterious man across the net. The two have never played before, so the 4th seed will need to be alert from the get-go. In a way, Zverev holds certain similarities to De Minaur: a steady, rhythmic brand of tennis that is difficult to break down. But although the German doesn't quite have the speed and agility of Marozsan's previous adversary, he has a couple more weapons up his sleeve - a much, much deadlier serve and backhand. I believe that although Marozsan can match Zverev blow for blow during rallies, it's the serve that will give Big Z the edge. Ultimately, Maroszan will struggle to put enough returns into play.

Prediction: Zverev in 3

Alcaraz vs Dimitrov

The most anticipated match of the day lies in wait in the evening session at Hard Rock Stadium. Boy, does it look electric. Carlos Alcaraz has been in absolutely imperious form so far, and not just here in Miami. Silencing any doubters and surging to a title in the hot Californian desert to reclaim his groove, the Spanish superstar is closing in on the famous Sunshine Double. In his meeting against Gael Monfils, one of the more entertaining matches of the tournament, Alcaraz snuffed out the veteran quickly. He followed this up with another brief drubbing of talented Lorenzo Musetti. Although he saw his concentration drop and allowed himself to be broken towards the closing stages of both these matches, I'm confident that this is an issue that he will fix as he approaches the business end of the tournament.

Grigor Dimitrov will have some confidence when entering this match on Thursday. Although the youngster's aura is menacing, he will take hope while looking back on their most recent meeting in Shanghai last year. The Bulgarian played some stellar tennis in all three sets, knocking out Alcaraz 5-7, 6-2, 6-4. The bad news for Grigor here is that this match was played during a very different time; Alcaraz was recovering from a bad dip in form post-Wimbledon, and Dimitrov was on one of the best runs of his life. As they meet now, it's almost a role reversal - it is the 32-year-old's level that has tapered off after the start of this season, while the explosive Spaniard is well and truly back. Stylistically, this is a nightmare matchup for Dimitrov; his slice backhand (which he employs most of the time instead of his topspin one-hander) gives Alcaraz way too much time to set up for his shots and is a gaping liability. Although this match looks exciting on paper, I'm backing Carlos to plough through.

Prediction: Alcaraz in 2