On Saturday in Miami, Andy Murray goes for his first victory over a top five player since he defeated Novak Djokovic in the championship match of the 2016 ATP Finals. He faces recent world No.1 Daniil Medvedev, who can reclaim that ranking with a good run this fortnight. No one has won more hard court matches the last few seasons than Medvedev, though he’s a modest 4-2 since his heartbreaking loss in the Australian Open final to Rafael Nadal.
Naomi Osaka has proven to be the preeminent hard court player in the WTA, claiming four Majors on this surface across the last four years. She hasn’t won a title of any kind since last year’s Australian Open, though she played her best tennis in a long time in a dominant victory over Angelique Kerber in the last round. On Saturday, she takes on Karolina Muchova, who is playing her first tournament since last summer’s US Open due to an abdominal injury.
Saturday’s schedule also includes defending champion Hubi Hurkacz, Indian Wells champion Taylor Fritz, teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz, and Australian Open runner-up Danielle Collins.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Saturday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Daniil Medvedev (1) vs. Andy Murray (WC) – 12:00pm on Stadium Court
Their only previous meeting was three years ago in Brisbane, where Medvedev won in straights. That was shortly before Murray seemingly retired at the 2019 Australian Open. But after another hip surgery, he returned, and last year, Andy played more matches than he had since 2016. The Brit started this season by reaching the final in Sydney, but has failed to win back-to-back matches since. Medvedev is still searching for his first singles title since winning his first Major last September in New York, as he’s lost his last three finals. Murray has a strong history in Miami, where he’s a two-time champion and has reached two other finals. Medvedev’s quarterfinal run a year ago is his best result to date. But at this point in their careers, Daniil is the far superior performer on this surface, and a considerable favorite to defeat Murray.
Karolina Muchova vs. Naomi Osaka – Third on Stadium Court
They have split their two prior encounters. Two years ago in New York, Osaka prevailed in three. Last year in Madrid, Muchova prevailed in three. But back on a hard court in the United States, Naomi is a clear favorite. She has been far from her top level this past year, yet has recently made the brave choice of entering therapy, and it has apparently already helped her on-court mindset. She thumped three-time Major champion Angelique Kerber on Thursday by a score of 6-2, 6-3. And Muchova has only played two matches since last August due to injury. While Karolina earned an impressive win in the last round over Leylah Fernandez, and has advanced to the quarterfinals or better at three Majors, it would be quite surprising if she defeated Osaka this early in her comeback.
Other Notable Matches on Saturday:
Danielle Collins (9) vs. Vera Zvonareva (Q) – This is only the third match for Collins since the Australian Open final due to a viral illness. The American was a Miami semifinalist in 2018, while Zvonareva did so in 2008 and 2011. Three years ago on the clay of Madrid, Danielle defeated Vera 6-1, 6-4.
Hubert Hurkacz (8) vs. Arthur Rinderknech – The defending champion arrives with a 10-5 record on the year. Rinderknech is a 26-year-old from France who reached a final this season in Adelaide, and defeated Denis Shapovalov in Doha.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (3) vs. J.J. Wolf (Q) – Tsitsipas was a quarterfinalist a year ago. Wolf is a 21-year-old qualifier who has already won three matches this week, which includes a victory over fellow American Sam Querrery.
Taylor Fritz (11) vs. Mikhail Kukushkin (Q) – The Indian Wells champ is still recovering from the ankle injury he suffered in last week’s semifinals. Fritz is 2-0 against Kukushkin, who took out Botic van de Zandschulp in the last round.
Carlos Alcaraz (14) vs. Marton Fucsovics – You will not find two more fit players on tour. Alcaraz is coming off a semifinal run at Indian Wells, and is 12-2 in 2022. Fucsovics was a surprise Wimbledon quarterfinalist last summer. A month later, he lost a three-setter to Carlos in Winston-Salem.
Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.