Former top-10 player Denis Shapovalov is set to start his Miami Open campaign with a first-round encounter against Botic van de Zandschulp. Shapovalov is coming in on the back of a modest campaign in Indian Wells, where he reached the third round, whereas Van de Zandschulp had a first-round exit, losing to Juan Manuel Cerundolo.
Denis Shapovalov vs Botic van de Zandschulp Match Details
Date: March 18, 2026
Tournament: Miami Open 2026
Round: First Round (Round of 128)
Venue: Miami Gardens, Florida, USA
Surface: Outdoor hard
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Live Telecast: Tennis Channel, Sky Sports, TSN, TVA
Shapovalov vs Van de Zandschulp Head-to-Head
The head-to-head is split 1-1 between the two players, with Shapovalov winning the first match 6-1, 6-4 at the 2024 BNP Paribas Open, whereas Van de Zandschulp won 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 against the Canadian at the US Open that same year.
Shapovalov has a 6-5 win-loss record thus far, with his best result being a semifinal finish at the Dallas Open, where he won against the likes of Rafael Jodar, Aleksandar Kovacevic, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina before losing to Ben Shelton in a third-set tiebreak. He had a couple of good wins against Stefanos Tsitsipas and Tomas Martin Etcheverry at Indian Wells, but was no match for Jannik Sinner.
Van de Zandschulp had his best result at the ABN AMRO Open this year, where he won against Luka Pavlovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas before losing out to eventual champion Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals in a three-set thriller. He had a decent third-round run at the Australian Open with wins over Brandon Nakashima and Juncheng Shang before losing out to Novak Djokovic.
Shapovalov vs Van de Zandschulp Prediction
Hard-court stats show that Shapovalov is winning 80% of the service games and 19% of the return games this season. He has saved 61% of the 66 break points he has faced, while converting 33% of the 76 break-point opportunities he has generated.
Van de Zandschulp has won 84% of his service games and 16% of his return games on hard courts this year. He saved 58% of the 53 break points he has faced so far, while converting 34% of the 64 break-point opportunities he got.
Ranking and form would suggest that Shapovalov would start as the favorite in the upcoming match, but Van de Zandschulp might have a shot if he serves well on a fast court like Miami. Break-point opportunities will be crucial, as whichever player gets an early break will have a massive advantage under potentially serve-friendly conditions.
However, the Canadian is a former semifinalist in Miami, whereas the Dutchman has never been past the fourth round here, making the former the favorite to win the upcoming match.
Pick: Shapovalov to win in straight sets
