Arthur Fils vs. Jiri Lehecka, Jannik Sinner vs. Alexander Zverev | Miami Preview and Picks

Before each day's play at the Miami Open, we'll preview and predict our must-see matches—stream them all on the Tennis Channel app.

Jiri Lehecka vs. Arthur Fils

Once upon a time, when the Miami draw was made, this match was going to pit Carlos Alcaraz vs. Novak Djokovic. But Djokovic dropped out, Alcaraz lost to Seb Korda, and now we have an unexpected encounter between the 21st and 28th seeds.

If Lehecka-Fils doesn’t have the starry shine of Alcaraz-Djokovic, it’s still a match that makes sense for the men’s tour. The Czech, 24, and the Frenchman, 21, have each persevered through recent back injuries and continued to climb the rankings. In part because of those injuries, neither is as high up the charts as he should be. Their performances in Miami will change that, and making a first Masters 1000 final is the logical next step for both of them.

They’ve played three times, all on hard courts, and Fils has won twice. Two of the matches went to 6-4 in the third—Fils won by that score in Davis Cup in 2024, Lehecka did the same in Toronto last summer.

In their own ways, each is one of the sport’s spectacular ball strikers.

Lehecka, in the tradition of his fellow Czech Tomas Berdych, does it with exquisite, ultra-clean timing on both of his ground strokes, as well as his serve. He wins 75 percent of his first-serve points, and averages more than eight aces a match. Not bad for a guy who’s only 6’1.

Fils, in the tradition of his countryman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, creates his power with a muscular, leaping, full-swinging athleticism. He’s fast enough to get around and hit a lot of forehands, and he can unload on them to either corner. Fils has only been back on tour full time for a little more than a month, but he’s 13-4 in 2026, and has made the Doha final, the Indian Wells quarters, and now his first Masters 1000 semi in Miami.

Each has a different strength, and provides a different reason to pick him to win.

Lehecka’s game is as pure as anyone’s who isn’t in the Top 2. It seems like a matter of time before his self-belief catches up with his ball-striking. But it isn’t there yet; Lehecka is still prone to crunch time nerves.

Fils has plenty of physical talent as well, but his strength is mental. As he showed in his miraculous three-tiebreaker win over Tommy Paul on Wednesday, Fils is ambitious and gritty in equal measure.

I’ll take gritty ambition over pure ball-striking, by a nose. Winner: Fils

Jannik Sinner vs. Alexander Zverev

“We’re trying to understand what’s the best game plan, trying to be in the best possible shape tomorrow, and we see how it goes,” Sinner said when he was asked about his thoughts on this semifinal.

He’s been doing both of those things—understanding the game plan and being in the best possible shape—to perfection so far during the Sunshine Swing. He’s 10-0 in matches, and 20-0 in sets, in Indian Wells and Miami. He has dismantled some opponents with clinical precision, and other times he has raised his game exactly when needed. Two more wins and he’ll complete the first Sunshine Double on the men’s side since Roger Federer did it in 2017.

Will Zverev have something to say about it? It feels like a long shot right now. Sinner has won their last six matches, dating back to 2023. Earlier this month, in the same round in Indian Wells, he beat the German in routine, 6-2, 6-4 fashion.

In that match, the points played out as they so often do when these guys meet. Zverev served big, but Sinner served bigger—the Italian had eight aces and won 82 percent of his first-serve points. The most important difference, though, came when they had to go to their second serves. Sinner won 64 percent of those points, Zverev only 28 percent. Once the rallies were in neutral, in other words, Sinner was the stronger and more proactive ground-stroker. He played with more depth, more pace, and more aggression.

Are there any reasons to think that might change in Miami? The courts are faster here, but I want to say that will help Sinner, who is 19-3 at this facility and has made the final there three times. He seems dead set on piling up as many ranking points as he can before the clay swing starts, and Alcaraz returns. I don’t think Zverev is the man to stop him. Winner: Sinner