The ATP’s Miami Open Masters tournament completes the quarterfinal round and that’s where we’ll pick up our tennis picks. Four more players will battle to join Fabio Fognini and the Rafael Nadal in the last four in Key Biscayne.
Before we look ahead to Thursday, let’s look back to Wednesday to recap our day. Overall, we had a winning day with our tennis picks as we went 2-0 with our selections. Once again, we had Fabio Fognini and he came through for us. He’s played well at this event. His latest win was over Kei Nishikori, who ended up losing 6-4, 6-2. As for our other selection, we had Rafael Nadal to advance. He had no problem in doing so as he ushered out Jack Sock. Sock was only able to win a total of five games in the entire match.
Looking ahead to Thursday, one clash involves two old hands on tour, while the other quarterfinal on Thursday is a matchup of next generation talents who possess first-rate skills. Here are our tennis picks for the day.
Roger Federer vs. Tomas Berdych
Roger Federer is just three wins away from completing the “Sunshine Double” – winning Indian Wells and Miami in the same year – for the third time. It is seen as one of the most difficult feats in tennis, but Federer hasn’t done it in 11 years. The supremely talented Swiss man became the first European man to achieve this incredible feat in 2005. In 2006, he completed the second Sunshine Double and in the process also became the first male player to do so. In 2017, the opportunity has arrived yet again, and stunningly it’s on Federer’s racquet to rewrite the history books.
Federer plays Tomas Berdych, who has looked out of sorts this year, in the quarterfinals. The Czech star has defeated Federer in Miami before (2010), but the last six meetings have been surprisingly lopsided. Berdych was one of Federer’s victims in Melbourne, where he wasn’t just beaten, he was taken to the cleaners. Berdych may have won six matches against Federer but it’s highly unlikely that he’ll add to that number here. Take Federer with your tennis picks here.
Pick: Federer in straight sets
Nick Kyrgios vs. Alexander Zverev
Nick Kyrgios and Alexander Zverev, two of the shining young stars of men’s tennis, will collide for a semifinal spot in Miami.
Kyrgios beat eighth-seeded David Goffin on Wednesday to propel himself into the quarterfinals. Kyrgios has been red hot of late, but he hasn’t won a title this year. The Australian beat Novak Djokovic two times in a row but surprisingly it didn’t materialize in a title-winning run. However, it feels like it’s coming, it’s around the corner. It could be in Miami but for now, Zverev, whom he beat two weeks ago in California, stands in his way. Can he beat him again? He surely can, but Zverev won’t give in so easily this time.
Alexander Zverev’s path to the quarterfinals has been nothing short of dramatic. He had to save three match points to get through a third-round high-wire act against John Isner, in which all three sets went to tiebreakers. In the round of 16 against top-seeded Stan Wawrinka, he dropped a close first set but surged back to break early in the second set. The German was so superior that he ran through 12 of the last 15 games to win going away in three sets.
This is the first time Zverev has made the quarterfinals of a Masters 1000 event. Zverev will be extremely intent on putting up a better show this time around. The last time they met, the matchup didn’t live up to the billing as the German was destroyed in straights in Indian Wells.
The same can’t be expected this time, if only because Zverev has bounced back in Miami and looked the part of an improved player. The idea that Zverev is playing for revenge holds some currency; the idea that he’ll make adjustments is an even more relevant reason why he’ll win.
It’s hard to pick a winner, but Zverev is in good position to bounce back. Take Zverev with your tennis picks.
Pick: Zverev in three sets
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