Miami R2 previews and predictions: Thiem vs. Coric, Kyrgios vs. Dzumhur

Rising stars Dominic Thiem, Nick Kyrgios, and Borna Coric will be part of Saturday’s second-round schedule in Miami. Thiem and Coric will face each other, while Kyrgios is going up against Damir Dzumhur.

Borna Coric vs. (6) Dominic Thiem

Thiem and Coric will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they collide in round two of the Miami Open on Saturday. Although Thiem’s favorite surface is clay, there are reasons to think he is line for a strong fortnight during the second of two straight U.S.-based Masters 1000 events. The 23-year-old Austrian is in fine form with a title on the red clay of Rio de Janeiro and a quarterfinal performance in Indian Wells. Additionally, Thiem reached the Miami quarterfinals in 2015 (lost to Andy Murray) and advanced to the fourth round last year (lost to Novak Djokovic).

Coric battled into this matchup by holding off Marcel Granollers 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-3 on Thursday. Still, the 62nd-ranked Croat is just 4-7 at the ATP level this season and recently suffered relatively bad losses at the hands of Henri Laaksonen (Indian Wells first round) and Dustin Brown (Irving Challenger second round). Coric’s defense will make this an entertaining baseline battle, but his forehand will likely break down in the end under the weight of Thiem’s far heavier groundstrokes.

Pick: Thiem in 2

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(12) Nick Kyrgios vs. Damir Dzumhur

Kyrgios has taken down Novak Djokovic at two straight tournaments (Acapulco and Indian Wells) heading into his Miami campaign. He will not meet an injured Djokovic this fortnight, but the 21-year-old Australian may get a shot at Swiss stars Stan Wawrinka (potential quarterfinal) and Roger Federer (potential semifinal). Kyrgios, who withdrew prior to an Indian Wells showdown against Federer because of an illness, is 10-3 this season and 4-1 lifetime in Miami, where he made his only appearance last season and reached the semis.

Up first is for the No. 12 seed on Saturday is Dzumhur, whom he has never faced. The world No. 66 from Bosnia and Herzegovina is in stellar form this year, already with eight ATP-level match wins to his credit. He advanced to quarterfinals in Memphis and Dubai, upsetting Wawrinka at the latter event, and outlasted Hyeon Chung in a third-set tiebreaker on Thursday. Even playing well, however, the counter-punching Dzumhur will likely get blown off the court by Kyrgios’ offensive onslaught.

Pick: Kyrgios in 2

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