Miami R2 previews and predictions: Rublev vs. Wolf, Bautista Agut vs. Ruusuvuori

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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