Tennis News

Japanese No. 1 Kei Nishikori and Russian No. 1 Mikhail Youzhny will meet in the second round of the Miami Open on Saturday morning. This is just the second time that they will cross paths on the tour, with Nishikori leading the Head to Head series 1-0.

Watch the match Live Here: Nishikori vs Youzhny Live Streaming

At last week’s Indian Wells Masters event, Nishikori began his campaign against Ryan Harrison, whom he defeated in straight sets. He would then beat Fernando Verdasco in three sets before falling to Feliciano Lopez in the fourth round. It was a surprising exit given his deep runs in all previous tournaments this season. He will now receive a bye into the second round of the Miami Open.

“I really like this tournament,” said Nishikori, who was upset by Feliciano Lopez in last week’s BNP Paribas Open fourth round. “Hopefully I can play good tennis this week and next. I did really well last year, and I have been playing good tennis.”

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“These are tough conditions, really hot,” the 25 year old said. “I’ve been practising these two days. I try to do whatever I can to not get injured. It’s really important to stay healthy here.”

In an entertaining opening round match, Mikhail Youzhny defeated Andrey Golubev in three sets, where he was forced to rally from an early defict to secure the victory in the decider. Following an hour and 56 minutes of play, the Russian won the match 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. He struck four aces, won 79% of his first service points and converted four break points to secure the victory.

This is just the second time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with Nishikori leading the series 1-0. The Japanese No. 1 won their only meeting back in 2013, when he defeated Youzhny on grass in Halle. He will now look to go 2-0 and earn his first hard court win against the Russian.

Prediction: Kei Nishikori in Three Sets

On Saturday afternoon, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic will begin his title defence campaign at the Miami Open, where he will look to once again complete back-to-back championship wins at Indian Wells and Miami. He will begin against Slovakia’s Martin Klizan, whom he has never faced previously on the tour.

Watch the match Live Here: Djokovic vs Klizan Live Streaming

Last week, Djokovic worked his way through a pleasant draw to challenge Roger Federer in the final of the Indian Wells tournament. While there were several momentum shifts in the match, Djokovic took command of the match in the final set, broke twice and secured the 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2 win against the Swiss star. The win pushed him to just two wins away from tying Federer in the head-to-head series.

“I thought overall it was a great match from my side, very solid, great intensity, great commitment to hit every ball,” Djokovic said. “I was very focused in the present moment.”

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Djokovic will next come up against Martin Klizan, who secured a straight sets victory over Paolo Lorenzi to reach the second round of the tournament. He converted four break points to close out the match 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 17 minutes.

This is set to be the first time that Djokovic and Klizan clash on the ATP World Tour, and is hardly a contest that would have fans worried about the Serb’s chances of wining. While Klizan has proven to be a threat to other top players in the past, this is hardly his favourite surface, nor has he come up against the No. 1 player on the tour in top form before.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic in Straight Sets

For other Miami Open Predictions and Previews, Click Here: ATP & WTA Miami Open 2015 Tips

Once the Miami Open draw was announced just a few days ago, one of the potential second round matches that was immediately noticed was the Dimitrov vs Pospisil meeting. While some may have hoped that Juan Martin del Potro would have made a successful comeback and set up the contest with the Bulgarian, we are instead dealt a riveting alternative. This marks the second time that Dimitrov and Pospisil meet on the professional tour, with Grigor leading the Head to Head series 1-0.

You can follow the match Live Here: Dimitrov vs Pospisil Live Streaming

While the Canadian was not in top form himself, he managed to overcome the lethargic and rusty del Potro to secure a straight set victory over the Argentine. He defeated Juan Martin 6-4, 7-6(7) to close out the match in just under two hours of court time.

“I didn’t really know what to expect,” Pospisil said of the returning del Potro. “That was a little added stress, but at the same time, I was focused on serving well and playing my game.

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“Whether [del Potro] had pain or not, he wasn’t hitting the same backhand that he normally plays, and I tried to take advantage of that by coming in and putting pressure on that side. But he was still serving well, which made it tough, so I just hung in there and maybe got a little bit fortunate at the end.”

Pospisil’s win sets up a meeting with ninth seed Dimitrov, who received a bye through the first round of the tournament. While he was unable to get past the third round at Indian Wells, the Canadian is still aware of the obstacle in his path.

“He’s super talented and playing great,” Pospisil said of his next opponent. “I’ll go out there and try to play well and stay aggressive and see how it goes.”

This is just the second time that Dimitrov and Pospisil will meet on the professional tour, with the Bulgarian leading the head-to-head series 1-0. Following up on his last win in Basel, Dimitrov will be looking to earn a solid victory over the Canadian and stay away from the fate his girlfriend suffered in her opening match in Miami.

Prediction: Grigor Dimitrov in Three Sets

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Following an emotional fortnight at Indian Wells, where she was competing for the first time I 14 years, Serena Williams will return to Miami, where she is a renowned champion. The top seed will begin her campaign against Monica Niculescu in the second round of the tournament, whom she encountered in the second round at Indian Wells less than two weeks ago. Williams leads the head-to-head series 1-0.

Following a 19th Grand Slam title win at the Australian Open, and a successful foay at the Fed Cup, Williams ventured to the American desert for the first time since 2001, and reached the semi-final stage of the tournament, where she was forced to withdraw from the event with an injury.

In her opening match in Miami, Niculescu faced a resilient Shelby Rogers, whom she defeated in straight sets after a competitive opening frame. After the first set ended in a tiebreak in one hour and 4 minutes, the Romanian breezed through the second set and won the match 7-6(1), 6-1. She will now come up against Williams, whom she pushed to a respectable 7-5, 6-5 scoreline in their only previous meeting.

“She’s an amazing player,” the Romanian commented. “When she’s tossing the ball to serve, you cannot see exactly where she’ll be hitting it. So I was guessing. Just guessing. That’s why she hit so many aces. I was trying to put all the balls back, but she was acing me all the time. It wasn’t easy.”

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This marks the second time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with the American leading the head-to-head series 1-0. Given that this tournament does not come with the pressure that she felt a few weeks ago, Williams be a heavy favourite to win the match and advance to the third round of the tournament.

Prediction: Serena Williams in Straight Sets

An all-Spanish match-up is scheduled to take place Friday afternoon, as world No. 3 Rafael Nadal and Nicolas Almagro meet for a spot in the third round in Miami. This is a particularly intriguing match-up, as Nadal lost to Almagro for the first time in his career in their last meeting in Barcelona last season. Nadal holds a 10-1 record in the head-to-head series against Almagro and will be keen to add to that number on Friday.

You can follow the match Live Here: Nadal vs Almagro Live Streaming

While Nadal arrived in Miami ready to complete, a sudden twist of fate led to the Spaniard taking a serious fall during one of his practice sessions and turned his left ankle. It was initially believed that he would not be fit to compete, but he informed the Associated Press on Tuesday that he was perfectly fit to perform on Friday.

“It’s for sure I’m going to be on court on Friday,” Nadal told the Associated Press on Tuesday. “The thing is, I don’t know how well I’m going to be prepared for then. I hope to be ready. It’s an important tournament for me.”

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With the injury woe somewhat behind him, Nadal hopes to win his first career title in Miami. Following an opening round loss in Doha to kick off the season, Nadal reached the quarter-final in Melbourne, the semi-final in Rio, and won Buenos Aires before recently losing to Milos Raonic in the Indian Wells quarter-final.

World No. 74 Almagro needed three sets to set up the second round clash with Nadal. He defeated Sergiy Stakhovsky in three sets to secure his spot in the tournament on Friday. He hit 16 aces to win the match 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-4 in two hours and 20 minutes.

This marks the 12th time these two competitors will clash on the ATP World Tour, with Nadal holding an solid 10-1 record against Almagro. The record includes an 8-0 clay court record, including ones in Barcelona and Acapulco in 2013. However, Almagro shocked the tennis community last season when he rallied from a set down to beat Nadal in the decider of the Barcelona quarter-final. Given that Nadal was far from his best at the time, this encounter should be far different to that memorable affair last October.

Prediction: Rafael Nadal in Straight Sets

See all the matches Live Here: Miami Open Live Coverage

For the first time this season, French No. 1 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will step out on court to play a match on the ATP World Tour. Following an injury plagued few months, the Frenchman will begin his Miami campaign against Tim Smyczek, whom he has never encountered previously on the professional tour. Their match will headline the night session on Friday evening.

You can follow the match Live Here: Tsonga vs Smyczek Live Streaming

The tournament’s 11th seed has been dealing with arm pain as far back as the Cincinnati Masters event and ahead of the US Open. He would go on to play up until the end of the season at the Davis Cup final against Switzerland. By then, he was far from peak form.

Now, however, Tsonga plans to make a comeback and is inspired by other Top 10 players who have passed their 30th birthday.

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“When I see players like [David] Ferrer and [Roger] Federer and others, they are able to play really good tennis,” he told ATPWorldTour.com on Monday. “I hope my best tennis will come this year.”

“I don’t have big expectations for this tournament,” he said. “I’m just happy to be back on the court. The only thing I expect is to play my best tennis in the moment and that’s it.”

The Frenchman will begin his week in Miami against Tim Smyczek, who rallied from a set down to defeat qualifier Adrian Menendez-MacEiras 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. He struck seven aces, won 77% of his first service points and saved three break points to close out the match in one hour and 52 minutes.

This marks the first time that Tsonga and Smyczek will cross paths on the professional tour, and considering the Frenchman has been away from the tour for a while, it is difficult to gauge his ability this time around.

Prediction: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Three Sets

Following a false start several months ago that forced him to go back under the knife, Juan Martin del Potro has officially announced that he will return to singles competition at the Miami Open, after paying doubles last week at Indian Wells. In his first match back on tour, Del Potro, who has fallen well past No. 600 on the tour, will come up against Canada’s Vasek Pospisil. It will mark the first time that the two competitors will meet on the professional tour and could make for an enthralling encounter.

After spending most of 2014 on the sidelines, del Potro made his return to tennis in Sydney. While few expected much, he managed to reach the quarter-final round at the Apia Sydney International, where he was the defending champion. He defeated Sergiy Stakhovsky and followed up with a three-set win over Fabio Fognini before losing to Mikhail Kukushkin the following round. However, he withdrew from the Australian Open soon afterwards and was under the knife just a few days later.

Now, following a second surgery on his wrist, del Potro believes he is fit to resume professional competition, even if he does not have high hopes for his own performance at the tournament.

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“I focus only on entering the court to play my first match,” del Potro told the ATP World Tour. “I do not care about the result yet, but to leave the court fully well physically.

“I think being here in this tournament energises me again,” said del Potro. “At times I feel a bit far in the rankings. I know I have a long way to go. When I was No. 4 in the world, everything was much easier. Even the objectives that I had were different.”

With just a 7-7 record in singles so far this season, Vasek Pospisil is playing far from his best tennis in 2015. His best performance so far this season was at the Aussie Open, where he reached the third round of the tournament. He most recently fell to Andy Murray in the second round of Indian Wells and will now be faced with another tricky draw in Miami, where he could be slotted against Grigor Dimitrov in the second round.

This is just the first time that del Potro and Pospisil will cross paths on the ATP World Tour. While both players are far from their best currently, it is del Potro who will be the worse for wear in this opening round given his injury layoff.

Prediction: Vasek Pospisil in Three Sets

Shortly after completing his stay at Indian Wells, Rafael Nadal flew across the United States to Miami, where he immediately begun preparation for the second Masters 1000 event of the season. However, things quickly took a turn for the worst when it was revealed that the world No. 3 had taken a serious fall during one of his practice sessions and turned his left ankle.

While there was some concern that Nadal would not be fit to play at the tournament, the Spaniard revealed that he still expects to compete at the event.

“It’s for sure I’m going to be on court on Friday,” Nadal told the Associated Press on Tuesday. “The thing is, I don’t know how well I’m going to be prepared for then. I hope to be ready. It’s an important tournament for me.”

At the time of the fall, Nadal was certain he would be unable to perform in Miami, yet a few days of rest and treatment has changed his mind.

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“In the beginning, I thought that was going to be the end of the tournament,” Nadal said. “I am confident I’m going to be ready.”

Nadal took to court on Tuesday to practice and claimed to have not been bothered by his ankle at all. He did not even require an X-ray or MRI.

“I feel pain,” Nadal said. “It’s obviously normal. I was a little bit limited today, but I was able to practice one hour and a half, which is more than I expected yesterday when it happened.”

With the injury woe somewhat behind him, Nadal hopes to win his first career title in Miami. Following an opening round loss in Doha to kick off the season, Nadal reached the quarter-final in Melbourne, the semi-final in Rio, and won Buenos Aires before recently losing to Milos Raonic in the Indian Wells quarter-final.

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