Day 1 at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami will see plenty of exciting action, with some very tight and high quality matches to be expected, with a great mix of young and veteran talent. We predict every match on the day. With 16 matches, we split them between four articles. The other three articles feature Brandon Nakashima vs Soonwoo Kwon, Richard Gasquet vs Thanasi Kokkinakis, and Nick Kyrgios vs Adrian Mannarino.
ATP Miami Day 1 Predictions
Gilles Simon vs Jack Draper
Head-to-head: first meeting
The two players are in very different stages of their careers: Simon is on a seemingly unstoppable downward spiral, heading towards retirement, while Draper has been on the rise and has been absolutely on fire this year so far on the Challenger circuit. Draper definitely goes into this match as the favorite although Simon can never be fully discounted with his vast experience at this level.
Prediction: Draper in 2
Daniel Elahi Galan Riveros vs John Millman
Head-to-head: first meeting
Galan Riveros did great to qualify for the main draw, but on this surface he’s clearly outmatched by Millman, who’s been in very decent form so far this year and is always a very tough nut to crack with his incredible fitness and defensive ability.
Prediction: Millman in 2
Emilio Nava vs Hugo Gaston
Head-to-head: Gaston 1-0 Nava
This is a battle between two young players who’ve been struggling a lot to put together results. Gaston might be much higher ranked but he has a lot of trouble performing outside France: he’s had promising runs at Roland Garros and the Paris Masters but never really built on it. He still goes into this match as a slight favorite, but it’s almost 50-50 and could genuinely go either way.
Prediction: Gaston in 3
Maxime Cressy vs Emil Ruusuvuori
Head-to-head: Ruusuvuori 1-0 Cressy
Cressy has had an incredible start to the season but lost gas after the Australian Open and hasn’t won a match since. Ruusuvuori also lost some gas after a great run to the final in Pune. It’ll be a battle of young players struggling and desperate to get back on track. On this very slow service, Ruusuvuori’s superior consistency from the baseline gives him the edge.
Prediction: Ruusuvuori in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
