Donald Young will hope to maintain his fine form when he gets going in Miami against Yen-Hsun Lu on Wednesday. Sergiy Stakhovsky and Nicolas Almagro are also in first-round action.
Donald Young vs. Yen-Hsun Lu
Young and Lu will be squaring off for the second time in their careers at the ATP level and for the third time overall when they clash in round one of the Miami Open on Wednesday. Both of their previous encounters have gone Young’s way; 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 on the hard courts of Bangkok in 2012 and 6-3, 6-4 one season later at the Leon Challenger–also on a hard court.
The 25-year-old American is playing some of the best tennis of his career right now. He is 13-7 for his 2015 campaign and up to No. 44 in the world, in part thanks to a runner-up finish in Delray Beach and a third-round showing in Indian Wells. Lu has reached quarterfinals in Chennai and Delray Beach, but for the most part he has been mediocre at best. The world No. 62 is coming off an opening-round Indian Wells loss to Jack Sock. With an edge in current form, past history against each other, and home-court advantage, Young should be able to withstand an inconsistent opponent.
Pick: Young in 3
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Sergiy Stakhovsky vs. (PR) Nicolas Almagro
Almagro missed the rest of 2014 after retiring in the first round of the French Open with a foot injury. The 29-year-old Spaniard’s progress has been slow but also steady this season. Following a pair of hard-court losses during the Australian summer, Almagro’s Golden Swing results included a quarterfinal performance in Sao Paulo and a run to the Buenos Aires semifinals.
Up first for the world No. 74 in Miami is Stakhovsky, who lost his only previous meeting with Almagro 6-2, 7-6(5) at the 2011 Montreal Masters. Stakovsky is playing stellar tennis at the moment, boasting 11 match wins this year. The 51st-ranked Ukrainian reached quarterfinals in Rotterdam and Dubai plus a semifinal in Marseille. Stakhovsky would prefer to contest this one indoors. In these conditions, Almagro should have enough match practice under his belt to advance.
Pick: Almagro in 3
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