Alexander Zverev is playing a really solid Miami Open so far, but he's going to need something more to take down a very solid Karen Khachanov.
Khachanov is not a stranger to good runs in Miami or many other events. He's a fairly underrated player who has everything to be a Top 10 player, but he seemingly never quite finds the consistency needed to get there.
Looking at any of his matches, you will be left astonished at how good he is sometimes, but then he'll also be able to lose the same match, and you kind of understand what the issue is.
Even so, he's going to pose a real challenge to Zverev, who is having a good year and a good week. The German is certainly not immune to losing matches or complicating situations that don't need to be complicated.
Head-to-head:
As longtime professionals, Zverev and Khachanov have faced each other a few times. Most of those matches, however, were played a long time ago, with the 2021 Olympics match being the most recent one. Zverev won that one and two more to take the 3-2 overall H2H lead.
The matchup does tend to favor Zverev because he is the most consistent player. They have similar skill sets, but the German is far more consistent.
| Karen Khachanov | Alexander Zverev | |
| 2 | H2H | 3 |
| 16 | Rank | 5 |
| 27 | Age | 26 |
| 10-5 | 2024 W/L | 14-5 |
| 254-184 | Career W/L | 408-182 |
Prediction:
Khachanov will be dangerous here because of the conditions. They play pretty well for him to be a big nuisance, especially if he can find his serve consistently. Zverev does have a huge wingspan and catches many balls, but it could get tricky.
The condition for him to win will be rather simple. Serve well and patiently convert when Kachanov inevitably runs into one of his bad stretches.
Prediction: Alexander Zverev to win in two sets.
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