Rafael Nadal will kick off his Miami campaign on Saturday against Damir Dzumhur. Second-round action is also wrapping up with an all-American showdown between John Isner and Tim Smyczek.
(5) Rafael Nadal vs. Damir Dzumhur
Heading into his sixth tournament of the season at the Miami Open, Nadal is still in search of his first title. The fifth-ranked Spaniard has not reached a final since Doha in early January, but he is coming off three consecutive semifinal finishes–including at the Indian Wells Masters. In the desert, Nadal scored victories over Gilles Muller, Fernando Verdasco, and Kei Nishikori before losing to Novak Djokovic 7-6(5), 6-2.
Up first for the 14-time major champion on Saturday is Dzumhur, whom Nadal has never faced. The world No. 94, who hails from Bosnia and Herzegovina, punched his ticket to the Miami second round by upsetting Leonardo Mayer 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday. Dzumhur is 6-7 at the ATP level during the 2016 campaign and he has not yet won back-to-back matches on any circuit. This should be a routine start to the event for Nadal, who may have built some confidence in Indian Wells.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing seven games or fewer
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(13) John Isner vs. (Q) Tim Smyczek
It will be an all-American affair when Isner and Smyczek go head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Saturday. Isner is coming off a decent fourth-round performance at the BNP Paribas Open, but for a while it looked like the fortnight could be even better for the world No. 13. Amidst conditions ideal for his game, Isner coasted past Andreas Seppi and Adrian Mannarino but then squandered a match point and lost to Kei Nishikori in a third-set tiebreaker. Miami’s 13th seed has now been ousted in three straight tournaments after having a match point.
An in-form Smyczek successfully qualified in both Indian Wells and Miami. The Delray Beach quarterfinalist booked his spot in the main draw of this event by taking out Christian Harrison and Grega Zemlja in easy straight sets before beating countryman Tommy Paul 6-4, 5-7, 7-5. Smyczek had also defeated Paul 7-5 in the third set during Indian Wells qualifying. This is obviously a steep step up in competition for Smyczek, whose serve is not reliable enough to hold on a consistent basis–and holds against Isner are just about essential every time his opponent toes the line.
Pick: Isner in 2
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