Miami Open 2024 Day 6: Men's singles predictions ft. Casper Ruud vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

Day 6 of the Miami Open will have the players duking it out for a spot in the fourth round.

The tournament schedule has gone for a toss due to rain interruptions. There are still a few second-round matches to be completed while half the players have booked their spots in the third round.

Americans Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul were dumped out in the second round. While Fritz and Tiafoe lost, Paul had to retire after badly rolling his ankle.

Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev were off to winning starts. With another busy day at the tournament on Sunday, here's a look at the predictions for some of the third round matches set for Day 6 of the Miami Open:

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#1 Casper Ruud vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

Ruud overcame a second set stumble to defeat Luca Van Assche 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-1 and reach the third round of the Miami Open. Fokina got the better of Shang Juncheng 6-3, 7-5 to book his place in the third round as well.

Fokina leads Ruud 2-1 in the head-to-head and has won both their previous encounters. All three of their matches have gone the distance, with their most recent duel taking place at last year's Canadian Open.

However, Ruud is in a much better form this season compared to Fokina. The Norwegian has won more than twice as many matches as his opponent. He will be better prepared to get the better of the Spaniard this time around.

Predicted winner: Casper Ruud

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#2 Ugo Humbert vs Dominik Koepfer

Ugo Humbert is the 14th seed at the 2024 Miami Open.

Humbert bested Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-4 in the second round. Koepfer staged a comeback to oust Marcos Giron in his opener before a 6-3, 6-2 victory over 18th seed Sebastian Beaz took him to this stage of the Miami Open.

Humbert has been the more in-form player this year, as he has won a couple of titles. Koepfer has had some decent results but has been equally inconsistent. This will be the first meeting between them.

While Koepfer has a 6-22 record against top 20 players, two of those wins have come this year, including one at this very tournament. If he continues to play like this, he could make things challenging for Humbert.

However, the Frenchman should overcome all obstacles to advance, based on how he has played this year.

Predicted winner: Ugo Humbert

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#3 Denis Shapovalov vs Matteo Arnaldi

Shapovalov has notched up the best result of his comeback with a third-round showing at the Miami Open.

After a hard-fought three-set win over Luciano Darderi in his opener, he made light work of Stefanos Tsitsipas with a 6-2, 6-4 win. It marked his first win over a top-20 player since October 2022.

Arnaldi has shone on his debut at the Miami Open. He moved past Arthur Fils in straight sets and followed it up with a 6-4, 6-1 win over 17th seed Alexander Bublik, reaching the third round of a Masters 1000 event for the second time.

Shapovalov won his previous and only encounter against Arnaldi in four sets at last year's French Open. However, the young Italian has improved by leaps and bounds since then. As such, he will be favored to one-up the Canadian on Sunday.

Predicted winner: Matteo Arnaldi

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#4 Nicolas Jarry vs Thiago Seyboth Wild

Nicolas Jarry is the 22nd seed at the 2024 Miami Open.

Jarry dug deep to sneak past Jack Draper 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (2) and reach the third round of the Miami Open for the first time. Wild has been in great form this week, as he made it through the qualifiers without dropping a set.

He then beat Nuno Borges and 12th seed Fritz in straight sets to make the third round, his first at a Masters 1000 tournament. Wild has dropped his serve just thrice across four matches.

While Jarry is the higher-ranked player in this match-up, it's Wild who has played with the confidence of a top contender. He has been on top of his opponents from the outset and rarely has found himself on the backfoot. Expect the Brazilian to continue his run at the Miami Open.

Predicted winner: Thiago Seyboth Wild