Ernests Gulbis and Mikhail Youzhny will be part of the Wednesday schedule in Miami. Alexander Zverev and American wild card Michael Mmoh are also aiming for a place in the second round.
Mikhail Youzhny vs. Ernests Gulbis
Youzhny and Gulbis will be facing each other for the eighth time in their careers when they meet again in round one of the Miami Open on Wednesday. The head-to-head series stands at 4-3 in favor of Youzhny, who has won each of their last three encounters. Dating back to a 2012 showdown in Doha, the 33-year-old Russian has taken five straight sets from Gulbis and not one of those sets progressed to a tiebreaker. They most recently squared off two years ago in Shanghai, where Youzhny cruised 6-4, 6-1.
Gulbis’ start to the 2016 campaign has not been as disastrous as his first few months of last season, but it has still been far from impressive. The 78th-ranked Latvian is 2-5 at the main-draw level and failed to get out of qualifying in both Brisbane and Sydney. Any dip in his ranking may force Gulbis to go back to the Challenger circuit, which is actually a strategy that Youzhny recently employed with great success. The world No. 72 started the season with three straight Challenger titles–good for a 15-match winning streak. After advancing one round in Indian Wells, Youzhny remains match-tough and is far more confident than Gulbis at the moment.
Pick: Youzhny in 2
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(WC) Michael Mmoh vs. Alexander Zverev
Zverev won the 2015 ATP Star of Tomorrow Award as the youngest player in the top 100, but his 2016 campaign is already putting last season’s accomplishments to shame. And if not for a few brutal losses, it would be even better than it is–which is saying a lot. The world No. 52 reached the semifinals in Montpellier, the quareters in Rotterdam, and the fourth round in Indian Wells before losing from match point up to Rafael Nadal.
In the cards for Zverev on Wednesday is a battle between fellow 18-year-olds with Mmoh. The 370th-ranked American is obviously far less experienced at the ATP level; in fact, he is still looking for his first career victory on the main tour. Mmoh contested his first such match last month in Memphis, where he fell to Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4. Although Mmoh may be a future prospect to watch, Zverev is clearly in a different league at the moment.
Pick: Zverev in 2
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who ya got?
Zverev in two and youzhny in three.
Sascha in 2 and Youzhny in 2
Gulbis gets back in form and gets his forehand in…wins in 3….and Zverev in straight.
A familiar score:
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The Gulbis-Youzhny match was an error strewn disappointent. Youzhny, although much improved on last year remains a shadow of the player he once was. Gulbis was in self destruct mode except he was so uninterested most of the time he didn’t even resort to his usual quota of destroyed racquets and tirades at the umpire.