Round two of the Miami Masters 1000 gets underway on Friday with a blockbuster matchup featuring Alex de Minaur and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Teenager Moise Kouame tries to keep his run going against Jiri Lehecka.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. (5) Alex de Minaur
De Minaur and Tsitsipas will be squaring off for the 16th time in their careers when they clash in the Miami Open second round on Friday. This is without question one of the most absurd head-to-head rivalries on tour, as Tsitsipas holds an eye-popping 13-2 lead over De Minaur (11-1 at the ATP level). They have not faced each other since 2024, when De Minaur scored a rare victory in Acapuclo only to see Tsitsipas cruise 6-1, 6-2 on the red clay of Rome.
There is, however, good news for the Aussie — and it has everything to do with his opponent. Tsitsipas has fallen off a cliff in recent seasons, to the extent that the 27-year-old Greek is unseeded in Miami with a ranking of No. 51. He did well to defeat qualifier Arthur Fery 6-1, 7-6(4) on Thursday, but that hardly suggests that he is about to take down an opponent ranked sixth in the world. De Minaur is 12-4 in 2026 and he has made back-to-back fourth-round appearances at this Masters 1000 event.
Pick: De Minaur in 2
(WC) Moise Kouame vs. (21) Jiri Lehecka
Kouame became the youngest player since Rafael Nadal in 2003 (Hamburg) to win a main-draw match at a Masters 1000 tournament when the 17-year-old overcame Zachary Svajda 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday. It was an impressive effort by Kouame, but it was also a ridiculous third set in which Kouame was struggling bigtime with cramps and double-faulted seven times (11 overall in the match) yet still managed to win thanks to a horrific performance by Svajda. The Frenchman, who just turned 17 on March 6, is already inside the top 400 and recently emerged on the main-tour scene with successful qualification in Montpellier. Kouame is 18-5 overall this season with two Futures titles.
Up next for the teenager on Friday is Lehecka, who has struggled this year to the tune of a modest 6-5 record. The 22nd-ranked Czech has not yet won more than two matches at any single event (reached the quarterfinals in both Doha and Dubai). Normally this would be a winnable match for the youngster, but it’s hard to see him recovering mentally or physically on the heels of his biggest-ever win.
Pick: Lehecka in 2