The entire fourth round of the Miami Masters 1000 will be played on Tuesday, when an all-seeded showdown features Taylor Fritz and Jiri Lehecka. Frances Tiafoe has a surprising matchup with Terence Atmane.
(21) Jiri Lehecka vs. (6) Taylor Fritz
Fritz went into the season with a knee issue and it hasn’t really improved a whole lot, but at the same time it hasn’t been a serious hindrance. The American still registers at No. 7 in the world, with results that include a fourth-round performance at the Australian Open and a runner-up showing in Dallas. Fritz has advanced to the last 16 at the Miami Open with victories over a pair of dangerous opponents in Botic van de Zandschulp and Reilly Opelka.
Up next for the 28-year-old on Tuesday is a sixth meeting with Lehecka, who trails the head-to-head series 4-1. Fritz is 3-0 against the Czech at Masters 1000s and won their first four encounters overall before Lehecka prevailed 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 during Davis Cup qualifying last spring. Lehecka opened in Miami with straight-set victories over rising stars Moise Kouame and Ethan Quinn. Still, the world No. 22 has not really found his game in 2026 — coming into this match with a modest 8-5 record. He is 7-18 in his last 25 matches against top-10 players.
Pick: Fritz in 2
Terence Atmane vs. (19) Frances Tiafoe
Tiafoe and Atmane will be squaring off for the second time in their careers on Tuesday. Their only previous meeting came last month on the indoor hard courts of Dallas, where Tiafoe got the job done 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. It was a match that will be remembered for Atmane’s outfit. All in good fun, the Frenchman bought Tiafoe’s colorful lululemon shirt at a local apparel store and wore it during the match.
Fun and games will surely be put aside for a showdown of this magnitude — with a spot in Masters 1000 quarterfinal on the line. Surprisingly, this is not the first time Atmane has been in this situation. The left-hander made a memorable trip to the Cincinnati semifinals last summer and he is hoping to produce similar magic in South Beach following defeats of Daniel Altmaier, Arthur Rinderknech, and Felix Auger-Aliassime. Tiafoe is coming off a 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(11) thriller against Jakub Mensik on Monday afteroon that lasted two hours and 51 minutes and saw the winner save two match points. The 20th-ranked American is playing well, but it will be tough to recover from that kind of effort with no days of rest — and Atmane is no stranger to upsets on this kind of stage.
Pick: Atmane in 3