Day 1 of Main Draw action on the men’s side at the Miami Open is always jam-packed, but a washout on Tuesday led to a limited number of main draw matches as the final round of qualifying is yet to be finished.
ATP Miami Day 1 Predictions
Janko Tipsarevic vs Bradley Klahn
Janko Tipsarevic hasn’t won a tour-level event match since defeating Thanasi Kokkinakis at the 2017 US Open, but received entry into the Miami Open using his protected ranking after missing the 2018 season. Tipsarevic, who was once a top ten player, has a real chance of winning as he’s facing a player in Klahn who’s had injury issues recently as well. Both players will probably look at this as an excellent opportunity to get to the second round, but I like the more experienced player in Tipsarevic.
Prediction: Tipsarevic in 3
Maximilian Marterer vs Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz had a great start to the season, reaching the round of 32 at the Australian Open and winning the Newport Beach Challenger as well. He’s struggled since then, with opening-round losses in Delray Beach and Indian Wells. Fritz has a slight edge given the surface, but I expect Marterer to keep it close.
Prediction: Fritz in 3
Nicolas Jarry vs Jeremy Chardy
Nicolas Jarry was unable to replicate his 2018 success on the “Golden Swing” but managed to pick up a big win over Frances Tiafoe at the BNP Paribas Open. The crowd in Miami is always raucous when a South American is in action, but it’s nothing Chardy hasn’t seen before in his long career. They have similar styles of play, but Chardy does everything a little better when he’s on.
Prediction: Chardy in 2
Bernard Tomic vs Tomas Berdych
Tomas Berdych will look to get back on track after a disappointing loss in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open to veteran Feliciano Lopez. Berdych has had no trouble in the past against Tomic, with a 5-0 H2H record against the Australian. If Tomic decides to play motivated it should be a good match, but I wouldn’t count on it. I think Berdych gets through comfortably.
Prediction: Berdych in 2
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