Vasek Pospisil’s tough Miami draw will continue on Saturday with a second-round match against Grigor Dimitrov. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic is beginning his tournament against Martin Klizan.
(9) Grigor Dimitrov vs. Vasek Pospisil
Dimitrov and Pospisil 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 two of the Miami Open on Saturday. Both of their previous meetings have gone Dimitrov’s way; 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2 in 2012 Tokyo qualifying and 6-2, 6-2 last fall in Basel. The 11th-ranked Bulgarian, however, has been struggling in 2015. He is 3-3 since the Australian Open, a record that includes a 6-0 third-set loss to Ryan Harrison in Acapulco. Dimitrov probably should have lost his Indian Wells opener, but Nick Kyrgios could not serve out the match after sustaining an ankle injury and the Aussie went down in a third-set tiebreaker.
Pospisil’s mediocre record the last two seasons–this one included–can be chalked up in part do physical problems and bad draws. But he insisted after beating Juan Martin Del Potro 6-4, 7-6(7) on Thursday that he is playing the best tennis of his career. The 60th-ranked Canadian has definitely been doing that in doubles, with a title last summer at Wimbledon and another triumph just recently in Indian Wells. With his opponent’s confidence shaky at best, Pospisil should be able to build on his clutch performance against Del Potro.
Pick: Pospisil in 3
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(1) Novak Djokovic vs. Martin Klizan
Djokovic will embark on his quest to complete the Indian Wells-Miami double when he takes the court on Saturday night. The world No. 1 is 19-2 this season, including 17-1 in his last 18 matches. He has a ton of momentum after lifting another Australian Open trophy and successfully defending his title in Indian Wells, and he will be looking to do the same in Miami. Djokovic is a four-time champion of this event and dominated last year without dropping a set or even being pushed to a single tiebreaker.
Up first for the top seed is Klizan. Heading into the first-ever encounter between the two players, Klizan has advanced at least one round in seven of eight tournaments in 2015. The 40th-ranked Slovak continued that consistency by taking care of Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday. Still, he has only one win over a higher-ranked opponent (Alexandr Dolgopolov in Brisbane) since making a run to the Beijing semifinals last fall.
Pick: Djokovic in 2 losing 5-7 games
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Djokovic didn’t defend Melbourne b/c he was not the defending champion at the Australian Open
And nobody said so. He was defending IndianWells.
I did. Fixed it thanks to Emily.
Monaco beats Gulbis 64 62.
Verdasco next for Rafa.
The tennis channel didn’t show Monaco and Gulbis, but that scoreline says it all. I am always relieved to see Gulbis out of Rafa’s section of the draw. Even though he seems to be in a funk now, he seems to get on fire when he faces Rafa.
There will be no surprises with Verdasco. Rafa knows what to expect.