The last Quarter-Final of the 2024 Miami Open will see Carlos Alcaraz face off against Grigor Dimitrov with the victor of Alexander Zverev and Fabian Marozsan awaiting who begin Thursday night's action in Florida.
Our preview looks ahead to the main tie left of the men's Quarter-Finals between Alcaraz who is looking for the Sunshine Double after winning at Indian Wells and will look to do what Iga Swiatek couldn't on the WTA side of draw against Dimitrov who has been one of the most in-form players on the ATP Tour in the past 12 months.
After being under scrutiny for not winning a title since Wimbledon, a new pressure has engulfed Alcaraz who has faltered at times as a result. From a poor Asian swing in which the World No.1 was in his hands and he dropped the ball as well as the recent South American swing where he got injured amid a run of tournaments, he was expected to win.
As a result, his resurgence at Indian Wells was a pleasant surprise as he ended the unbeaten run of a certain Jannik Sinner and stamped his name on the map. As the Simple Minds classic goes, Don't You Forget About Me and certainly Alcaraz has showed that including this week. The Spaniard has been in superb form and will be favourite to seal the title from here on out albeit against stern competition in Dimitrov.
So far this tournament, it has been plain sailing as he saw off Roberto Carballes Baena, Gael Monfils and Lorenzo Musetti without a great deal of fuss. It is form that even had Monfils marvelling that he couldn't find a way past him to his coach, he is playing that good but perhaps Dimitrov is his toughest test yet.
While his opponent on the other hand at the age of 32 joins a slew of names including Adrian Mannarino to have their best success well into their 30's, Dimitrov has become a formidable player at the top of the rankings again over the last 12 months and has been epic in Miami. He started off with a gruelling win over Alejandro Tabilo in three sets before wiping aside Yannick Hanfmann.
A tough win over Hubert Hurkacz followed which was more known for controversy surrounding his opponent hitting the net and letting his frustration out than the win itself. But Dimitrov found a way in a deciding tie-break and champions often find a way to seal the win against adversity and he will hope to do the same against Alcaraz.
It has been mainly up in 2024 for Dimitrov. He reached the Last 16 losing to Daniil Medvedev at Indian Wells, he lost to Alex de Minaur in Rotterdam during the semi-finals and only lost at Open 13 Provence to an inspired Ugo Humbert. Only at the Australian Open, he flattered to deceive with a loss to Nuno Borges in the third round.
He technically reached back-to-back finals in Paris and Brisbane and has been there or thereabouts throughout the last 1`2 months. His longevity also needs to be marvelled at during this tournament. He completed a career set of Masters Quarter-Finals and has reached at least the Quarter-Finals or higher of a Masters event every year for 12 years in a row. He also sits at his highest ranking since 2018. Utterly incredible.
Head to Head hands the edge though to Carlitos with the Spaniard holding a 3-1 record. Only at Shanghai last year did Dimitrov snap that streak with three wins over the last two years in Paris, Madrid and Queen's Club over three different surfaces for Alcaraz proving his credentials against Dimitrov. While the Bulgarian may hold a bit of confidence after Shanghai on a similar surface, it will likely be an uphill task.
Prediction - Carlos Alcaraz in two sets
Carlos Consistency Carlos Alcaraz has only played 22 ATP Masters events in his short career... and he's now reached (at least) the quarterfinals in 12 of them. The top seed eases past Lorenzo Musetti, 6-3, 6-3, to set up an elite 8 date with 11th seeded Grigor Dimitrov.
