Brisbane R2 previews and picks: Federer vs. Kamke, Dimitrov vs. Troicki

Roger Federer will kick off his 2016 campaign against Tobias Kamke during second-round action in Brisbane on Thursday. Viktor Troicki and Grigor Dimitrov are also aiming for a place in the quarterfinals.

(1) Roger Federer vs. (Q) Tobias Kamke

Federer will be contesting his first match of the season when he takes the court at the Brisbane International on Thursday night. The 34-year-old Swiss is coming off a stellar 2015 campaign in which he finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the World Tour Finals after upsetting the world No. 1 during round-robin competition in London. Federer’s year began in ideal fashion, with a title at this Brisbane event.

Up first for the top seed is a second career meeting with Kamke, who lost their only previous showdown against the 17-time Grand Slam champion 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 at the 2012 French Open. It has already been a productive week Down Under for Kamke, as he qualified for the main draw by defeating Norbert Gombos and Jurgen Zopp before getting the best of Australian wild card Benjamin Mitchell 6-2, 6-4 on Monday. With three matches already under his belt, the 277th-ranked German has to be feeling comfortable on these courts. It will not be a complete beatdown as Federer eases into 2016 competition, but the favorite should still get the job done in straight sets.

Pick: Federer in 2 losing 8 games or fewer

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Viktor Troicki vs. Grigor Dimitrov

Fresh off a dismal year that dropped him to 28th in the rankings and with a new coach (Franco Davin) in his corner dating back to last fall, Dimitrov has the pressure on to deliver in 2016. The 24-year-old is certainly off to a strong start in that effort. At the mercy of the draw because he is unseeded, Dimitrov faced No. 5 seed Gilles Simon on Monday and pulled off a 6-3, 7-6(10) upset.

Next up for Dimitrov is a second career contest against Troicki. They previously went head-to-head four years ago on the indoor hard courts of Basel, where the Bulgarian coasted 6-3, 6-2. Troicki’s career has been quite eventful since that point in time. The 22nd-ranked Serb was suspended for 12 months for missing a drug test before returning in the summer of 2014 and immediately soaring up the rankings. His first full season back on tour saw him win 35 matches at the ATP level in 2015, including a title in Sydney as a qualifier. This should be a good one, with a slight edge going to Dimitrov based on his encouraging performance against Simon.

Pick: Dimitrov in 3

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