In-form Italians Jannik Sinner and Matteo Arnaldi will take the court for third-round action at the Miami Masters on Sunday. Sinner is going up against No. 25 seed Tallon Griekspoor, while Arnaldi faces Denis Shapovalov.
(25) Tallon Griekspoor vs. (2) Jannik Sinner
Sinner and Griekspoor will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers and for the second time this year when they meet in round three of the Miami Open on Sunday. All three of their previous encounters have gone Sinner’s way, and he is 6-0 in total sets. They just faced each other in the Rotterdam semifinals, where the Italian cruised 6-2, 6-4.
That was part of a 19-match winning streak for Sinner, who won the Australian Open and Rotterdam before losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells semis. The world No. 3 got back on the winning track and improved to 30-2 in his last 32 matches by beating Andrea Vavassori 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday. With Griekspoor coming off a two-hour and 41-minute struggle against Alex Michelsen, there is little reason to think that the 26th-ranked Dutchman will suddenly be competitive in this matchup.
Pick: Sinner in 2
Matteo Arnaldi vs. (PR) Denis Shapovalov
A massive wave of Italian men is crashing through the ATP Tour right now. Sinner obviously leads the way, but Arnaldi is also surging up the ranks and played a critical role in his nation’s Davis Cup triumph last fall. The 23-year-old has climbed to No. 38 in the world and at this rate will be seeded for the French Open and Wimbledon. So far this week Arnaldi has defeated Arthur Fils and Alexander Bublik in straight sets, giving him nine main-tour match wins in 2024.
Up next for Arnaldi on Sunday is a second meeting with Shapovalov, who scored a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory at Roland Garros last spring. The two competitors have gone in different directions since then, however. Plagued by a knee injury, Shapovalov did not play after Wimbledon in 2023 and owns a 4-7 match record in 2024. A straight-set rout of Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday suggests that the 126th-ranked Canadian is on the pathway back to success, but for now Arnaldi is the much more reliable player.
Pick: Arnaldi in 3
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