Tennis News

An all-French third round berth is scheduled to take place on Sunday afternoon in Miami, as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils will meet for a sixth time on the professional tour. Tsonga leads the head-to-head series 4-1 and will look to continue his comeback with a win over his countryman.

Watch the match Live Here: Tsonga vs Monfils Miami Live Streaming

The Frenchman began his 2015 season with a successful comeback match against Tim Smyczek, whom he defeated in three sets to secure his spot in the third round of the tournament. Tsonga hit 11 aces and broke serve twice, including a decisive one in the final set, to close out the match in one hour and 51 minutes. It wasn’t the prettiest match but it was certainly an achievement considering the long layoff and he was clearly satisfied with the outcome nonetheless.

“I played pretty solid. I just had a little hole in the second set. But, it’s normal when I haven’t played in a couple of months now. I hope it’s going to be better and better, but for the first match it was already something good for me.”

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His opponent, Gale Monfils, rallied from a set down to earn a place in the third round of the Miami Open. He defeated Croatia’s Filip Krajinovic 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(4). The Frenchman hit four aces, 69% of his first service points and converted four break points to secure the win in one hour and 58 minutes.

Tsonga and Monfils will now meet for the sixth time on the ATP World Tour, with Tsonga leading the head-to-head series 4-1. He also won their last two consecutive meetings dating back to 2012. However, given his long layoff and rusty showing early on, this is a difficult match to predict. It is quite possible that Monfils could pull off the upset if Tsonga is not able to rely on his full strength.

Prediction: Gael Monfils in Three Sets

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British No. 1 Andy Murray and surging Colombian Santiago Giraldo will meet in the third round of the Mutua Madrid Masters in what should be a fascinating contest. This marks the third time they meet on the professional tour, with Murray remaining ahead in the head-to-head series with a 2-1 record. While that amy be the case, this will likely be their most competitive battle yet.

You can watch the match Live Here: Murray vs Giraldo Miami Open Live Stream

The two-time Miami champion began his campaign against Donald Young, who he defeated 6-4, 6-2 to cruise into the third round of the tournament. It was a standard match from Murray, who won 76% of his first service points and converted four break points for secure the win in one hour and 22 minutes.

“I played well against him the last couple of times,” Murray said. “Obviously today was a very different match to Davis Cup; completely different conditions. The tactics that you go into the match with completely change because of the weather and the wind.

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“Sometimes it can be ridiculously hot, and that [means] managing the points and your emotions and your physical condition. Today it was just very tough weather to play good tennis in. I just tried to play smart, and it worked.”

The Briton will come up against Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo, who beat Robin Haase in the second round 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 to secure his spot in the third round of the tournament.

This marks the fourth time that Murray and Giraldo will cross paths on the ATP World Tour, with all their previous meetings taking place on clay. To add to the intrigue, the Colombian won their last encounter at the Madrid Masters last year, which is a loss that Murray will want to avenge. Given that the Briton is the superior hard court competitor, this should be a straightforward meeting.

Prediction: Andy Murray in Straight Sets

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Following five career meetings that all took place within the past 12 months, Ana Ivanovic and Sabine Lisicki will cross paths once again for a sixth time on the WTA tour when they meet in the third round of the Miami Open on Sunday. Ivanovic leads the head-to-head series 4-1.

Watch the match Live Here: Ivanovic vs Lisicki Miami Live Streaming

The Serbian No. 1 looked like she was en route to a quick straight sets victory when she jumped to a 7-5, 5-2 lead against American qualifier Irina Falconi, but she was then faced with some resistance and was unable to close out the match until two hours and 35 minutes on the clock, when she finally downed her 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-3.

“The tournament is great,” she said. “Also the city is beautiful. We have so much sunshine and the beach, and this is the lifestyle I enjoy. I’ve been trying to use that for some relaxing down time. It’s growing. There’s so much more awareness about this event. And there are a lot of fans coming out – that’s great to see.”

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Ivanovic will come up against Sabine Lisicki, who also needed three sets to get past her opponent Julia Goerges. She defeated her fellow German 7-691), 6-7(5), 6-4 to reach the third round of the tournament. Lisicki struck five aces, wo 77% of her first service points and converted five break points to earn the victory in two hours and 45 minutes.

This marks the sixth time that Lisicki and Ivanovic will cross paths on the professional tour, with the Serb leading the head-to-head series 4-1. They recently met in Dubai, where Ivanovic thrashed the German 6-0, 6-3 to secure the win. Given that all four of her wins have come in straight sets, Invanovic will likely continue that trend this time around in Miami.

Prediction: Ana Ivanovic in Straight Sets

Follow other matches Here: Miami Open Live Tennis Scores

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