Seeds Andrey Rublev and Roberto Bautista Agut will get their Miami campaigns started as second-round action begins on Friday. They may have tough tests on their hands in the form of J.J. Wolf and Emil Ruusuvuori, respectively.
(22) Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Emil Ruusuvuori
It will be a rematch of an Indian Wells second-round showdown when Bautista Agut and Ruusuvuori meet again at the Miami Open on Friday–also in the second round. Bautista Agut could not have liked the draw when he saw that Ruusuvori could be his first opponent yet again. After all, the Spaniard just lost this matchup 7-6(5), 6-2 a couple of weeks ago. Now he has to face the Finn once more after Ruusvuori took care of Phoenix Challenger champion Nuno Borges 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday.
Bautista Agut has no such momentum. The world No. 28 stormed out of the gates in style this season but is just 1-5 in his last six matches since reaching the Australian Open fourth round. This match is going to be on Ruusuvuori’s racket, as he has far more offensive firepower than Bautista Agut. That isn’t always a good thing given the 23-year-old’s inconsistency, but given his current form and the relatively fast conditions that probably singles another win for the Finn.
Pick: Ruusuvuori in 3
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J.J. Wolf vs. Andrey Rublev
The only previous meeting between Rublev and Wolf came last summer in Washington, D.C., where Rublev rolled 6-2, 6-3. This second-round encounter at the Miami Masters figures to be much more competitive–even if Rublev remains the heavy favorite. Wolf has climbed into the top 50 (50th on the number) and has already won nine ATP-level matches in 2023, including a fourth-round run at the Australian Open, a semifinal showing in Dallas, and a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Alexander Bublik on Wednesday.
This season has been mostly slow going for Rublev aside from a decent quarterfinal result in Melbourne and a runner-up performance in Dubai. Of course, it is only mediocre based on the lofty standards that the world No. 7 has set for himself dating back to 2020. This will be a battle between two of the biggest forehands on tour, but Wolf is the one who will probably have to mix things up because Rublev is rarely going to come out on the losing end of forehand exchanges.
Pick: Rublev in 2
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WWW?
Rublev in 2
Bautista Agut in 3
Pella is a strong chance of upsetting Shapo
Bautista Agut has suffered enough after his AO antics and should get revenge on Ruusuvuori. Bautista Agut in 3
Nakashima is a strong chance of upsetting ADF after a long hardcourt season and underperformance against Medvedev. Nakashima in 3
Rune over Fucsovics in 3. Both Northern Europeans and Fucsovics is more senior, so Rune should be dialed in and Fucsovics was a bit soft last 2 matches.
Rublev to win (probably in 2)
Sinner in 2
Fritz in 2
Wu in 3
Dimitrov in 3
Zverev in 2 (maybe 3)
Ivashka in 3
Cressy in 3
Alcaraz in 2
Humbert in 3
Damn, how unlucky was I
Bautista Agut Break points 2/9
Humbert Break points 1/11
Cressy Break points 1/5
Nakashima Break points 1/6
Even Dimitrov was 1/10 but managed to get it done.
Sometimes the die just doesn’t roll your way.
Shapo
Double faults 13
First serve % 49%
Pella had break points in the 3rd and Shapo still wins.
Tommy Paul is a Miami man and lost in a close one. Paul in 2.
I just saw Sinner and Rublev out in IW…both looked very tough…both in 2….and Fuscovitz also looked like a beast out in IW….that match with Rune will be big hitting….Rune in 3.