Sam Querrey and the soon-retiring David Ferrer will square off at the Miami Masters on Thursday. Meanwhile, Indian Wells lucky loser sensation Miomir Kecmanovic is back in action to take on Ernests Gulbis in the first round.
Sam Querrey vs (WC) David Ferrer
This is a match for nostalgic tennis fans. Spanish veteran David Ferrer announced last year that he will retire after he puts in one final appearance at the Madrid Masters (in May). The Spaniard is ranked 155th in the world. He has managed to win a single match at each of his four 2019 tournaments so far.
American Sam Querrey has had one good tournament this year so far. The world No. 68 advanced to the semifinals in New York last month, where he lost to Brayden Schnur in three sets, though in 2018 he made the finals. Querrey was ranked as high as No. 12 just last May, but he failed to defend points from his stellar 2017 and his ranking has been sliding down since.
Even ranked well outside the top 100, Ferrer is a tricky first-round opponent. The Spaniard is experienced and while he seems to have difficulty stringing wins together, each of his three wins this year have been against players ranked much higher than he is.
Cheryl pick: Querrey in 3
Ricky pick: Ferrer in 3
[polldaddy poll=10271423]
Ernests Gulbis vs. (WC) Miomir Kecmanovic
This will be the first meeting between Ernests Gulbis and Miomir Kecmanovic. Kecmanovic comes into Miami off the tournament of his life in Indian Wells. The Serb came from out of nowhere (and through qualifying) to advance to the quarterfinals of the Master’s event in the California desert. He eventually lost to Milos Raonic.
Gulbis is ranked higher at No. 78 in the world, but he comes into Miami off a Challenger event in Phoenix in which he lost his first match. He’s not a regular on the Challenger tour–many players who lose early in Indian Wells elect to get more match play at the Arizona Tennis Classic (the event this year featured David Goffin and Jeremy Chardy), but the Latvian still lost his opener against Evgeny Donskoy.
Based on form, Kecmanovic must be the favorite, though it’s possible that with the teen coming into this week off six matches in California that he’s a bit gassed.
Cheryl pick: Kecmanovic in 3
Ricky pick: Kecmanovic in 3
[polldaddy poll=10271429]
Leave a Reply