Familiar foes Andy Murray and Grigor Dimitrov will contest a third-round match on Monday in Miami. Gael Monfils and Pablo Cuevas also have a history heading into their showdown.
(26) Grigor Dimitrov vs. (2) Andy Murray
Murray and Dimitrov will be squaring off for the ninth time in their careers when they clash in round three of the Miami Open on Monday. The head-to-head series stands at 6-2 in favor of Murray, who has won three in a row against Dimitrov and is 6-1 at the Bulgarian’s expense on hard courts. They faced each other twice last year, with the Scot getting the job done 7-5 in the fourth set at the Australian Open and 7-5 in the third at the Cincinnati Masters.
Just winning one match to reach the third round is a decent result for Dimitrov, who dropped his opening match in Indian Wells on the heels of losses to Rajeev Ram in Delray Beach and Dominic Thiem in Acapulco. The world No. 28, who reached the Sydney final two months ago, outlasted Federico Delbonis 7-6(8), 4-6, 6-4 in an error-fest on Saturday. Murray held off Denis Istomin 6-3, 7-5 on Saturday night. In only his second event since the Australian Open, the world No. 2 is trying to bounce back from a third-round setback against Delbonis in Indian Wells. This matchup has been competitive in the past, but Dimitrov’s slump suggest he will not be able to make it so interesting this time around.
Pick:Â Murray in 2
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(16) Gael Monfils vs. (23) Pablo Cuevas
Aside from the same winner, nothing was similar about the two previous meetings between Monfils and Cuevas. The two veterans first faced each other at the 2008 U.S. Open, where Monfils rolled 6-4, 6-4, 6-1. Seven years later, they squared off again at the 2015 French Open. In one of the biggest meltdowns of the entire season, Cuevas led two sets to one and by a double-break at 4-1 in the fourth only to fall 4-6, 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
It has been an outstanding season for both players so far. Monfils sports a 13-4 record with quarterfinal performances at the Australian Open and in Indian Wells in addition to a runner-up finish in Rotterdam. The 16th-ranked Frenchman maintained his fine form by clobbering Tatsuma Ito 6-3, 6-2 on Monday. Cuevas punched his ticket to the third round by defeating John Millman 7-5, 6-4. Miami’s 23rd seed captured consecutive clay-court titles in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo before dropping his Indian Wells opener to Guido Pella, whom Cuevas beat in the Rio final. On a hard court, Monfils should not have too much trouble extending his perfect record against the Uruguayan to 3-0.
Pick:Â Monfils in 2
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who ya got?
I have to believe that Murray will not want a repeat of what happened in I/W. I expect him to be ready this time. Dimi hadn’t come out of his slump yet, so I expect Murray to win in 2 sets.
Monfils for the win in 2 sets.
Agree with Nny. Murray and LaMonf in 2.
La Monf and Murray in straights.
Agree. I don’t understand what is going on with Dimitrov lately? Is he playing too much with any girl lately?
not just ANY girl!
It’s Scherzinger man.
Lol…Nicole Scherzinger. I doubt she’s good for his tennis long term — just my opinion. And I thought Dimitrov was a bad choice for Maria…But I’m no expert in the field, that’s for sure ?
At least Andy isn’t wearing all black today. Go Andy!
That was some lousy TB from Dimi.
Dimitrov defeated Murray 6(1)-7, 6-4, 6-3.
No need to post.
It is available on this obscure site that you’ve probably never heard of.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/current/miami/403/live-scores?
AT 10:45 PM
You are right: there’s no need for you to post here. LOL
Dimitrov played well.
Murray’s tennis has really gone down after the birth of his daughter.
2 Hard court masters 2 early exits.
Vamos Grigor. Looks like big 4 is no more. Big 1.
Allez Gael!
I thought there was no way that Murray would lose early again in another masters tournament. I checked back to see that Dimi won the second set and was very surprised. I did not watch the third set, but I simply cannot imagine what is going on with Murray. The #2 player getting knocked out early in back-to-back Masters tournaments? Murray has done very well here. Since he became a father it seems his game has just gone awol.
There seems to be a void at the top of the men’s game right now. Fed is coming back from the knee surgery, Rafa got sick in the humid conditions, Stan had not been playing well at all.
Novak can really clean up here with another win. There is no one to challenge him right now.
Nativenewyorker MARCH 28, 2016 AT 11:57 PM.
—Rafa got sick in the humid conditions—
===
.
Surprise, surprise, surprise! You admit that Rafa was affected by high humidity!
Hope Gael can beat Grigor next round! Gael has his serious game face on and is playing beautifully!
Grigor annoys me. I know he’s popular but – meh… not a fan. Andy’s loss is disappointing.
rc,
I am with you all the way. I have never been a fan of Dimitrov. I think murray’s loss to him us very disappointing.
I love Gael and would be so happy to see him beat Dimi.
Agree with rc but I was unaware of dimi’s popularity.