Alcaraz vs. Korda, Keys vs. Zheng, Jovic vs. Gibson: Miami Open previews and picks

Carlos Alcaraz vs. Sebastian Korda

Could it be the spring of 2021 all over again for Korda? That year, at 20, he announced himself as a top-level contender by reaching the final in Delray Beach, and the quarterfinals in Miami. The 6’5’’ frame, the major-champion father, the ultra-smooth two-handed backhand: it was enough to get experts as highly regarded as Martina Navratilova to proclaim him the best of the U.S. men’s crop and a future Grand Slam winner.

Five years later, Korda has yet to reach a Grand Slam semifinal or crack the Top 10. He’s currently ranked 36th in the world and seventh among U.S. men. But as much as any other American, he still looks the part of a champion and, at 25, he’s far from finished.

Korda has also begun this year with good news in two departments: (1) He’s healthy, which is often not the case; and (2) He has a new coach, Ryan Harrison, who has made an immediate impact. Korda is 11-5 in 2026. He made a final at the Challenger in San Diego and a quarterfinal in Dallas. And this time, when he reached the Delray final, he went ahead and won it.

All of which makes his third-round encounter with Alcaraz a big opportunity. Korda is 1-4 against the Spaniard; his lone win came in 2022, on clay in Monte Carlo. Since then, they’ve played three times, and Alcaraz hasn’t dropped a set. The good news for Korda is that their last meeting was in 2024.

The bad news, of course, is that Alcaraz is just as good, if not better, than he was then. Win or lose, though, this will be a good test of Korda and Harrison’s work. They’ve tried to get more out of Korda’s serve, and to have him bring more competitive energy to the court. He’ll need both, and a lot more, to compete with an Alcaraz who already looked dialed in during his opening-round win. Winner: Alcaraz

Madison Keys vs. Zheng Qinwen

This match has the potential to be a lot of things. It could be close, it could be a blowout, it could be filled with winners, it could be filled with errors, it could be an epic that careens back and forth from one set to the next, it could be over in a hurry. The one thing we do know is that—to paraphrase former NBA player Rasheed Wallace—both players will hit hard.

Neither of these women’s rankings are what they used to be. Keys, after winning the Australian Open in 2025, is down to No. 18. Zheng, who peaked all the way up at No. 4 last summer, is No. 26 after undergoing right elbow surgery.

They’ve played once, on hard courts in D.C. three years ago, and Keys won in two sets. At this point, though, the 23-year-old Zheng would seem to have a higher future ceiling than the 31-year-old Keys. Right now, it might be a matter of how much rust Zheng has been able to shake off in the month or so that she has been back on tour. I’ll say it’s enough. Winner: Zheng

Iva Jovic vs. Talia Gibson

This Court 1 encounter will pit two of the brightest new WTA lights of 2026 against each other for the first time at tour level.

Jovic is 18 years old and a career-high No. 17 in the rankings. She started the year by making a final, a semifinal and a quarterfinal in Australia, and is 15-6 on the season.

Gibson’s success has, if anything, been more of a surprise. The 21-year-old Perth native came out of the qualies and went all the way to the quarterfinals in Indian Wells. In Miami, she has qualified again and won two more main-draw matches. On Saturday, she took apart four-time Slam champ Naomi Osaka with the self-assurance of an old pro who knows she has the bigger game.

Gibson and Jovic have met once, at an ITF event on grass last year, and Jovic won in three sets. Jovic may still be the more polished player, with more speed and variety. But where Jovic is trying to add power to her ground strokes, Gibson has it naturally. Her two-handed backhand may be the weapon of the day.

Whoever wins, this will be an interesting first fight between two women we’ll be seeing more of soon. Winner: Gibson