On Saturday I posted about the speculation regarding Juan Martin del Potro’s wrist and unfortunately the big man himself confirmed the inevitable on Sunday night. Del Potro was due to have surgery on his left wrist on Monday and is unlikely to return to the court in 2014. Ideally it would be great to see him fit and ready for the 2015 Australian Open, but there are no projections yet on when he will be ready.  It’s really sucky news and I am majorly gutted for DelPo 😦

1. Andy Murray v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (ATP Miami, R4)

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Two of 2014’s underperformers, Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, will meet in the 4th round of Miami.  If the pair bring some of their recent form to this match-up, it could be an absolute shocker, but here’s hoping it won’t be. Murray is playing his first tournament without Ivan Lendl as his coach although he was still in his box for his third round victory over Feliciano Lopez.  Murray dropped a set in his opening match to Matt Ebden, but rebounded well in the final two sets.  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga‘s form has been really shaky this week; he dug out of several huge craters to get past Marcos Baghdatis in the third round.  He dropped the opening set and was 1-5 down in the second set tiebreak before prevailing, 4-6 7-6(6) 7-5.  Perhaps this victory will give him some confidence but in general, Tsonga has looked flat all year.  Murray has a dominant lead in the head-to-head having won eight of their nine previous matches.  Tsonga’s form has been incredibly uninspiring in the last couple of weeks and despite Murray not being at 100%, he should be good enough to reach the quarter-finals.

Prediction: Murray d. Tsonga in 2 sets (1 tight, 1 easy)

2. Roger Federer v Richard Gasquet (ATP Miami, R4)

Roger Federer continued his dazzling recent form with a 6-3 6-3 victory over Thiemo De Bakker in the third round.  The Swiss maestro, who has leaped back into the world’s top five, has won 21 of his 24 matches in 2014.  He will now play Richard Gasquet in the fourth round, who had his best win of 2014 in the third round.  After a so-so start to the year, Gasquet has produced some fine tennis in Miami and he defeated the in-form, Kevin Anderson, 6-3 6-4 in the third round.  Gasquet did everything well and was able to convert on his break point opportunities in the second set unlike Anderson.  He was aggressive on his backhand and was able to produce a few wow winners.  Gasquet has a couple of wins over Federer, both on clay; however Gasquet is unlikely to have the answers to break down an in-form Fed.

Prediction: Federer d. Gasquet in 2 tight sets

3. David Ferrer v Kei Nishikori (ATP Miami, R4)

In one of the toughest third round matches to call, it was Kei Nishikori who recorded a victory over Grigor Dimitrov in a tight two setter, 7-6(1) 7-5.  I had gone for Dimitrov, but Nishikori should never underestimated and when he’s not affected by injury, he is a very consistent threat.  The most memorable moment from the match came when Dimitrov helped a ballgirl who wasn’t feeling well off the court.  The tweet below (with a link to the video) made me laugh.

Nishikori will now take on David Ferrer in the last 16 after the Spaniard eased past Andreas Seppi, 6-3 6-2.  Ferrer has won their last two matches, but Nishikori has beaten him twice before.  Ferrer, who is sporting a quite ghastly pink shirt this week, missed Indian Wells through injury and has been fortunate to have two very comfortable matches.  Nishikori is a man in form and will be tough to get past.

Prediction: Nishikori d. Ferrer in 3 sets

ATP Miami 4th Round Predictions

Rafael Nadal d. Fabio Fognini in 2 sets

Milos Raonic d. Benny Becker in 2 sets

Stanley Wawrinka d. Alexandr Dolgopolov in 3 sets

Tomas Berdych d. John Isner in 2 tight sets

Novak Djokovic d. Tommy Robredo in 2 sets