Japan’s top two players, Kei Nishikori and Yoshihito Nishioka, will be part of second-round action on Friday in Miami. Nishikori has a date with Kevin Anderson on his hands, while Nishioka is facing fellow Indian Wells star Jack Sock.
Kevin Anderson vs. (2) Kei Nishikori
Nishikori and Anderson will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers when the battle for a spot in the third round of the Miami Open on Friday. All three of their previous encounters came in 2015, with Nishikori getting the best of the first two–via a 6-4, 6-4 decision in the Memphis title match and 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the Acapulco semifinals. Anderson exacted a measure of revenge by upsetting the current fourth-ranked player in the world 7-6(10), 7-6(3) at the Shanghai Masters.
A big reason for Nishikori’s No. 4 ranking and No. 2 seed is a trip to the final of this same Miami tournament last spring (lost to Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-3). The 27-year-old is 17-6 lifetime in Miami with one semifinal finish (2014) and five consecutive appearances in at least the fourth round. Nishikori is a decent 12-5 this season and coming off a quarterfinal showing in Indian Wells. Finally back from all kinds of injury issues, Anderson is struggling down at 74th in the rankings. The 6’8” South African advanced one round in Indian Wells and picked up his second match victory of the year by defeating Dusan Lajovic 6-2, 7-5 in his Miami opener. Anderson can keep this somewhat competitive with his big serve and one-two punch, but he will want to dictate the entire time and few players are better than turning defense into offense with a stellar return game than Nishikori.
Pick: Nishikori in 2
[polldaddy poll=9703895]
(13) Jack Sock vs. Yoshihito Nishioka
Sock’s recent run to the Indian Wells semifinals was particularly impressive because he won his first four matches all in three sets–over Henri Laaksonen, Grigor Dimitrov, Malek Jaziri, and Nishikori. Although the 24-year-old American finally went down to eventual champion Roger Federer 6-1, 7-6(4), he is still an incredible 15-3 this season with titles in Auckland and Delray Beach.
Up first for Sock on Friday in Miami is a second career showdown against Nishioka, whose Indian Wells showing was arguably even more amazing. It all started when the 21-year-old from Japan lost to Elias Ymer in the final round of qualifying only to get a lucky-loser spot in the main draw and face none other than Ymer–yes, the exact same opponent–a little more than 24 hours later. Nishioka easily got revenge (6-4, 6-1) and was off to the races, taking down Ivo Karlovic and Tomas Berdych before succumbing to eventual runner-up Stan Wawrinka 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) after twice failing to serve out the match. The world No. 58 just recently ran into Sock in Acapulco and pulled off a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 upset, which marked their first-ever encounter. A red-hot Sock should be able to turn the tide as long as he serves well and plays aggressive tennis with one of the biggest forehands in the game.
Pick: Sock in 2
[polldaddy poll=9703811]
who ya got?
Same as Lucky.
She is awesome!
Kei in two and Sock in three.
Kei in three and Sock in two
Nishi in 2 sets.
Sock in 2 sets
Hopefully sock doesn’t slip up after a good week last week… Nishi in three