Madrid R3 previews and predictions: Berydch vs. Ferrer, Kyrgios vs. Cuevas

Familiar foes Tomas Berdych and David Ferrer will be aiming for a spot in the Madrid quarterfinals on Thursday. Meanwhile, an all-unseeded matchup pits Nick Kyrgios against Pablo Cuevas.

(8) Tomas Berdych vs. (9) David Ferrer

Berdych and Ferrer will be squaring off for the 14th time in their careers but for the first time in more than a year when they meet again in round three of the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday. Ferrer is leading the head-to-head series 8-5, but they have split their four previous clay-court encounters with two wins apiece and all four of those contests came no later than 2007. The two veterans most recently faced each other early last season on the hard courts of Doha, where Ferrer triumphed 6-4, 7-5 in the title match.

This has been an injury-plagued season for Ferrer, who is currently making a comeback from a calf problem. The 34-year-old Spaniard has played only three matches since the calendar turned from February to March, a stretch that includes a third-round loss to Lucas Pouille in Miami. Ferrer opened in Madrid with consecutive three-set victories over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Denis Kudla. Berdych snagged the last of the eight first-round byes before taking care of Denis Istomin 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday. Like Ferrer, the eighth-ranked Czech has been in relatively lackluster form this season. But the fast conditions in Madrid should be ideal for Berdych’s game and he will likely have too much firepower for an opponent who has not yet regained his finest form.

Pick: Berdych in 3

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Nick Kyrgios vs. Pablo Cuevas

The 2016 campaign has been particularly apropos for Kyrgios, who can get hotter than just about anyone on tour when he is playing well and full of confidence while also being prone to disappearing in both the mental and physical departments. Although the 21-year-old Australian lost to Nicolas Almagro in the Estoril semifinals last week, it is safe to say that the best version of himself is on display in Madrid. After getting past Guido Pella in straight sets, Kyrgios ousted No. 4 seed Stan Wawrinka 7-6(7), 7-6(2) on Wednesday.

Up next for the world No. 21 is a second career meeting with Cuevas, who dropped their only previous showdown 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(2) at the Australian Open earlier this season. The 27th-ranked Uruguayan has only improved since then, with titles in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo to highlight his 18-7 record. Cuevas advanced to the last 16 this week by surviving two straight third-set tiebreakers against Philipp Kohlschreiber and Gael Monfils. Spending four hours and 45 minutes on the court over the past two days is less than ideal heading into a match in which Cuevas is sure to be running all over the place and playing a ton of defense. Anything close to the serving display Kyrgios put on against Wawrinka will be enough to get the job done.

Pick: Kyrgios in 2

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