ATP Masters in Miami, Semifinals, Friday, 31/03/2023
There will definitely be a Russian player in the final of the Miami Masters, but who? Daniil Medvedev faces compatriot Karen Khachanov on Friday night, looking to target his fifth final in a row.
Will he get through without any problems? He is clearly favoured at Bet-at-Home, but his opponent is showing a strong side in Miami. In my Medvedev Khachanov tip, I reveal why I’m betting on a longer match!
It was an embarrassment that seems to have really spurred him on. Daniil Medvedev had already failed in round 3 to Sebastian Korda at the Australian Open and had to listen to a lot of mockery and ridicule afterwards.
Afterwards, however, we got to see a different Daniil Medvedev, one who had found his coolness again. In Rotterdam, Qatar and Dubai he ended up on top, and deservedly so.
Whether Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jannik Sinner, Andrey Rublev or even Novak Djokovic, they were all swept out of the way by the Russian. In Indian Wells, he wanted to continue with the titles in a row, but here a youngster stood in his way.
Medvedev reached the final, but here Carlos Alcaraz was a class above. They blew the first Masters, but they don’t want that to happen again at the second. Here in Miami, Medvedev has yet to push his limits.
He took it easy in his opening 6-1, 6-2 win over Roberto Carballes, and a little later he went through without a fight against Alex Molcan. Quentin Halys was not exactly an opponent of his calibre either, as the 6-4, 6-2 showed.
The 27-year-old will have to show a little more in the quarter-finals, when the tableau presented him with qualifier Christopher Eubanks. Although the latter played strongly, Medvedev’s international class prevailed in the end.
He won 6-3, 7-5 and is still without a set loss. But he was also lucky that his opponent could only use one of the six break chances. Karen Khachanov should be by far the toughest opponent of the tournament on Friday.
The two have met four times so far, with Medvedev winning the match three times. This year they dueled in Adelaide when the former world No 1 grabbed a 6-3, 6-3.
With odds of 1.20 to 4.40, bettors can well imagine things going similarly this time around, after all, an outright 2-0 win for the favourite hasn’t exactly been priced high at 1.65.
On a good day, Karen Khachanov has what it takes to prevent just that. He may have stumbled a little at the start against Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, but then he turned up the heat.
After a 6-2, 6-4 win over the in-form Jiri Lehecka, the clash against Stefanos Tsitsipas was on the agenda. Khachanov was definitely the underdog here, but in the end he recorded a 7-6, 6-4 win.
In the quarter-finals, he returned to his easy game when he sent Federico Cerundolo home 6-3, 6-2. He collects well over 80% of the points won on first serve, which is strong.
For both him and Daniil Medvedev it will now be the first semi-final in Miami, Khachanov was not really on the cards for the top four after winning only one match in the last two tournaments.
My Medvedev Khachanov tip
The bookmakers send Daniil Medvedev into the match against Karen Khachanov as the clear favourite. In Miami he has not had any difficulties so far, but neither have the absolutely strong opponents.
Khachanov is different, he has already sent Stefanos Tsitsipas home. Medvedev’s individual quality may be a bit higher, but the strong service of his opponent still makes for an intense match in my eyes, so I’m betting:
We see more than 20,5 games!
