Thanasi Kokkinakis and Zizou Bergs will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers as first-round play at the Miami Open wraps up on Thursday.
Neither player earned direct entry into the main draw based on ranking, as Kokkinakis is No. 94 and Bergs is 134th. Kokkinakis was in qualifying and Bergs got a wild card. The Aussie actually lost to Benoit Paire in the final round on Tuesday but got a lucky-loser spot in the field of 96. That result is somewhat concerning, but it at least went to 7-5 in the third set and Kokkinakis has otherwise been very good this year (7-5 at the ATL level plus one Challenger title).
Bergs has enjoyed some Challenger success in recent seasons, but the Belgian is 4-15 lifetime on the main tour. This should be relatively routine for Kokkinakis.
Pick: Kokkinakis in 2
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