The ATP Masters in Miami kicks off on Wednesday, with 16 singles matches on the cards. As always, we predict them for you. Can another American wildcard cause a major upset and who will win the latest episode of Murray vs Berrettini? We also predict the rest of the day’s matches, split between three other articles–featuring Denis Shapovalov vs Luciano Darderi, Arthur Fils vs Matteo Arnaldi, and Jack Draper vs Taro Daniel. What do you think will happen?
ATP Miami Day 1 Predictions
Nuno Borges vs Thiago Seyboth Wild
Head–to–Head: First Meeting
Thiago Seyboth Wild’s form has reignited after a string of inconsistent performances. A decent third-round exit at Indian Wells was followed with two dominant wins in the Miami qualifiers and he enters the main draw against an inform Nuno Borges–fresh from defending his Phoenix Challenger title.
Seyboth Wild is the more talented of the two but Borges will be lurking to take advantage of any slip.
Prediction: Seyboth Wild in 3
Tomas Machac vs Darwin Blanch
Head–to–Head: First Meeting
After suffering consecutive qualifying exits in the last two years, Tomas Machac finally enters the main draw in Miami and he is almost certain of clearing the first round for the third consecutive time at Masters level with an easy draw against wild card Darwin Branch, who has not even won a match at Challenger level. American wild cards have caused a stir in previous editions but the gulf in quality between both players is too wide.
Prediction: Machac in 2
Pedro Cachin vs Andrea Vavassori
Head–to–Head: First Meeting
Andrea Vavassori finally made it to his second main draw appearance at Masters level after disappointingly falling off at the final hurdle at Indian Wells. He won his first-round match then at the Madrid Masters against Andy Murray and he’ll certainly be confident he can do the same against Pedro Cachin who hasn’t won a match all season.
Prediction: Vavassori in 2
Andy Murray vs Matteo Berrettini
Head–to–Head: Murray 2 vs 3 Berrettini
This promises to be a sumptuous encounter between two players who know each other well and are in contrasting situations. While the former world #1 is looking to bow out of the game on a high, the younger Italian is trying to find his way back into the fold after a hiatus that now sees him currently ranked outside the top #100. Berrettini did show glimpses of his former self with an excellent run to the final in Phoenix before yielding to Nuno Borges in a closely contested match.
Murray hasn’t lost consecutive matches since being upset by Benoit Paire in Montpellier and put up a challenge against Andrey Rublev at Indian Wells. However, Berrettini rarely loses his serve and the longer this match goes, the more it tilts towards the Italian. Difficult to separate these two at their current level, but I’ll back the younger player to advance to the next round.
Prediction: Berrettini in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
