David Ferrer and Steve Johnson will be part of the first day of Miami action that features seeds. They are set for what should be difficult encounters on Friday with Taylor Fritz and Alexander Zverev, respectively.
(Q) Taylor Fritz vs. (8) David Ferrer
Ferrer will be playing for the first time since last month’s event in Acapulco when he takes the court at the Miami Open on Friday afternoon. The 33-year-old Spaniard slumped through February with a semifinal loss to Nicolas Almagro in Buenos Aires, a quarterfinal exit at the hands of Dominic Thiem in Rio de Janeiro, and a second-round setback against Alexandr Dolgopolov in Acapulco. That prompted Ferrer to give himself a rest, which he did by skipping the Indian Wells Masters.
Up first for the No. 8 seed is Fritz, who had to qualify just to get into the main draw. The 18-year-old American disposed of Nicolas Kicker and Alex Kuznetsov before beating Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday night. Fritz’s meteoric rise includes seven ATP-level match victories in 2016 (he previously had one in his entire career) and it has him up to 81st in the rankings. He could surprise a rusty opponent early and often in this contest, but Ferrer will likely be too consistent and force Fritz to hit too many balls in the end.
Pick: Ferrer in 3
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(31) Steve Johnson vs. Alexander Zverev
Johnson and Zverev will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Friday. Although Johnson is the seeded player in this matchup who benefited from an opening-round bye, Zverev has to be considered the favorite based on current form. The 18-year-old German is coming off a fourth-round performance in Indian Wells and he kicked off his Miami campaign with a 7-6(3), 7-6(4) victory over American teenager Michael Mmoh on Wednesday. Zverev is 10-7 this season and up to a career-high ranking of 52nd in the world.
Having won back-to-back matches only once this year (at the Australian Open), Johnson could really use a deep run on Key Biscayne. The 36th-ranked American is just 4-7 for his 2016 campaign and 2-5 dating back to the third round Down Under. Johnson defeated John Millman in Indian Wells following a first-round bye and then lost to Kei Nishikori 7-6(6), 7-6(5). This is another great opportunity for Zverev, who did not play particularly well against Mmoh but should benefit from having a match under his belt and being able to adjust to the Miami conditions.
Pick: Zverev in 2
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Agree with both picks, but I would like to see both Americans win!
Same as Ricky (again)
Ferru and Zverev in two.
Ferrer in 2 sets.
Zverev in 2 sets.
Was in my kitchen making coffee and heard Tennis Channel quoting our Ricky! But I didn’t get there in time to see which tweet it was!
Thiem doing a good job v Groth, right now. Did I miss a poll for Thiem?
Underwear problems:
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Johnson defeated Zverev! Well done Steve!!
That was a HUGE win for Stevie. Also I was sad to see Fritz losing the first set with a set point then losing that second easily. Would’ve loved to see an upset there. Lots of big wins and upsets today it seems. As usual quite a few in WTA but on ATP Pouille had that big win over GGL. Picked him to win but he did it easier than I expected. Also Nishioka was a big shock for me. I really like Lopez and his game but I was very happy to see Nishioka get that win. He’s edging closer to top 100. He’ll crack that milestone if he wins his next match. Oh and I heard del Po needed a timeout during the wrist. That worries me. I hope he’s alright.
For the wrist I mean.
So Johnson beat Zverev! I didn’t see that one, but well done to Johnson.