Miami Open 2022: Lorenzo Musetti vs Alexei Popyrin preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: Lorenzo Musetti vs Alexei Popyrin

Date: 23 March 2022

Tournament: Miami Open

Round: First round (Round of 128)

Venue: Miami, Florida, USA

Category: WTA 1000

Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt

Prize money: $8,584,055

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Voot

Lorenzo Musetti vs Alexei Popyrin preview

Lorenzo Musetti will take on Australia's Alexei Popyrin in the first round of the 2022 Miami Open on Wednesday.

So far, Musetti has failed to impress in 2022. The Italian has won just five tour-level matches all year, with his best result coming in Rotterdam, where he defeated Hubert Hurkacz to reach the quarterfinals.

Musetti heads to Miami after second-round defeats to Reilly Opelka and JJ Wolf at the Indian Wells Masters and Phoenix Challenger respectively. He has now fallen to World No. 76 in the ATP rankings.

Alexei Popyrin at the 2021 US Open

Much like his opponent, Popyrin comes into the encounter in a poor run of form. Although he did pick up wins over Nikoloz Basilashvili in Dubai and Stefano Travaglia in the Melbourne Summer Set, the Australian has failed to reach the quarterfinals of a single event he has played this year. Meanwhile, his form on hardcourt has been declining.

Popyrin enters Miami after a poor showing at Indian Wells, losing 6-3, 7-5 to World No. 149 Tomas Machac.

Lorenzo Musetti vs Alexei Popyrin head-to-head

The first-round encounter in Miami will be the first tour-level match between Musetti and Popyrin, so their head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.

The pair did, however, meet at last week's ATP Challenger event in Phoenix, where Musetti prevailed in straight sets.

Lorenzo Musetti vs Alexei Popyrin prediction

Musetti at the 2022 Dubai Open

While Musetti has proven that he is capable of putting in big performances against the best players on tour, he has suffered in terms of consistency. The Italian will be looking to put together a solid run in Miami this week before moving on to clay.

Musetti's biggest strength is his one-handed backhand, which allows him to hit winners even from tricky positions on the court. The 20-year-old is also able to collect cheap points on his serve.

Popyrin, on his part, is capable of hitting with power from the baseline. He also has a powerful serve. The Australian has a solid forehand and will look to exploit Musetti's weaker wing in crosscourt exchanges. However, if he is tuned in, Musetti's strengths should allow him to take control of the match and advance to the next round.

Prediction: Musetti to win in three sets.