Sunday
Alexandr Dolgopolov vs. (29) Santiago Giraldo: Dolgopolov turned in a stellar performance against Frank Dancevic, suggesting his game is rounding into form. He should gain additional confidence at a place where he upset Rafael Nadal en route to last year’s semis. Dolgopolov in 2.
(13) Gilles Simon vs. Malek Jaziri: Most importantly, Simon is healthy. The icing on the cake is that he is in stellar form. Simon in 2.
(31) Jeremy Chardy vs. Donald Young: When Young is cold, he is ice cold. But when he is confident, the guy’s talent can shine through. Young is supremely confident based on recent strong play at home in the United States. Young in 3.
Igor Sijsling vs. (3) Rafael Nadal: Sijsling is often hopeless against all opponents, and he is always hopeless against top-tier opponents. His first-ever meeting with Nadal will not end well. Nadal in 2.
(7) Stan Wawrinka vs. Robin Haase: Wawrinka is 6-0 lifetime against Haase; only one has ended in straight sets and one ended after 2:00 in the morning at the 2011 Chennai event. Based on current form, this one should be more straightforward. Wawrinka in 2.
Sergiy Stakhovsky vs. (9) Tomas Berdych: On an indoor hard court or grass, this one would be interesting. In Indian Wells, a clear edge goes to Berdych. He won’t be as kind to Stakhovsky as Sam Querrey was in the first round. Berdych in 2.
(21) Ivo Karlovic vs. Steve Johnson: Johnson twice took down Karlovic in third-set tiebreakers, but the 6’11” Croat got some revenge with a straight-set win last month in Delray Beach. At 36 years old, Karlovic has somehow vastly improved his all-court game. Karlovic in 3.
Jack Sock vs. (33) Gilles Muller: Sock showed flashes of brilliance in a tough one against Yen-Hsun Lu on Friday, but he was understandably rusty in his first match of 2015. Muller, on the other hand, has played 18 matches this season and has won 12. Match-toughness will be the difference. Muller in 3.
Diego Schwartzman vs. (2) Roger Federer. This should have been Federer vs. Jerzy Janowicz. Instead, it’s Federer-Schwartzman. It should not last more than an hour. Federer in 2.
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Rafa stormed into the 3rd round!
Vamos!!!
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Hey Ricky, great call on the games apart from Wawrinka and Muller… Seems Sock is playing for the crowd coming back a set down.
Twice Sock has messed up my pickings in each round. When will you be posting the r3 picks?
Soon!
what do you think of the following picks?
Ferrer over Tomic
Isner over Anderson
Murray to win 2-1
Kei to win 2-1
Murray will win in 2 for sure
The rest are not bad
Isner-Kando is 50-50
seems that Rafa had a placid day, he needs matches like these 🙂
Ferru took care of Wawa 🙂
Hasse took care of Wawa. 😉
Hope Rafa takes care of Fed…………..soon!
Oh no, Rafa plays against Marc Lopez in dubs………….
I know. I wonder if Rafa and Marc have ever played against each other in doubles before.
Ah yes, sorry I meant Hasse and was thinking of Ferru cause he passed Wawa in the ranking
Rafa is the best . Vamos Rafa.?
^^Indeed, @niketa lobo (India)!
I think Rafa played a solid match…I particularly liked his serving, I always love when he is able to get easy points…
Vamos Rafa!
Rafa played a decent match against an opponent who had no weapons to really trouble him. He did serve well, but Sijsling didn’t return well at all. This was a nice way for Rafa to get the feel of the court and his shots.
Rafa was interviewed on tv by the tennis channel after his match. I thought what he said when asked about his low first serve percentage was quite interesting. He said that he was trying to serve more quickly and that’s why he wasn’t getting in as many first serves. I also checked out his first serve speeds and he was going for 120 mph+ in the beginning, but then slowed it down. Rafa also said that he felt that his movement was better, that the dynamic improved over his previous matches. I learn so much from his interviews.
Rafa’s forehand was really on fire throughout the match. Now it’s on to Donald Young. The good news is that Rafa has a great draw and should get to the quarterfinals without much problem. I still like his chances to get to the semis and even the final.