The Miami Open tennis tournament moves into the quarterfinals and that’s where we’ll pick up our tennis picks. Two of which will be played on Tuesday before another quarterfinal doubleheader on Wednesday. Familiar names occupy one quarterfinal, while two emergent players with similar styles will define the other. It’s a very fascinating pair of matchups, as the journey to the finish line begins to come into focus near Biscayne Bay in South Florida.
Looking back to Saturday’s tennis picks, we had a very successful day on the betting card. We went 3-0 with our tennis picks. We had Mirjana Lucic-Baronia to advance past Aggie Radwanska and she had no problem doing so. She cashed in 6-0 and 6-3 to take it in straight sets. Next up we had Garbine Muguruza to top Shuai Zhang and she did exactly that. Although Muguruza lost the opening set 6-4, she would only lose four more games the rest of the way as she won 6-2, 6-2. Lastly, we also had Caroline Wozniacki to advance. While she’s been shaky in recent years, she’s done well in Miami. Wozniacki had no problems in her matchup with Sorana Cirstea. Woz took the match 6-4, 6-2 and is now making a push for the semis. On that note, let’s pick up our tennis picks there for Tuesday.
Caroline Wozniacki vs. Lucie Safarova
Wozniacki is certainly playing solid tennis, but when a player advances in a tournament due to the retirement of her opponent, it is hard to judge exactly where she stands heading into the next round of play. That’s what happened to Wozniacki, who watched Garbine Muguruza retire from her round-of-16 match. Muguruza has been an injury-prone player this season, which partly explains her erratic level of form. Wozniacki has to be seen as a question mark in this match, not necessarily because of anything she has done, but because not playing full matches midway through a tournament can interrupt momentum and break up the routine athletes count on to be able to play at their best.
Safarova, like Wozniacki, is a former major-tournament finalist who has never crossed the final threshold and won a major championship. She has struggled for much of the past two years since reaching the 2015 Roland Garros final. However, she has displayed good form in Miami and knows how much of an opportunity this is for her and her 2017 tennis season. Safarova hits a bigger ball than Wozniacki, and it’s instructive to note that Wozniacki’s periodic resurgences at different points in her career did not bring about a genuine change in terms of how she plays. Wozniacki wins when she plays her style of ball better than in her more ordinary moments. She hasn’t been able to generate the level of firepower which will put her opponents more on the defensive. She might outfox Safarova, but if her opponent can limit unforced errors, Wozniacki is in trouble here. Take Safarova with your tennis picks in this spot.
Pick: Safarova in three sets
Karolina Pliskova vs. Mirjana Lucic-Baroni
In the Australian Open quarterfinals earlier this year, Pliskova and Lucic-Baroni showed how similar they are. These women play flamethrower tennis, going for the big bomb on serve and trying to rip a forehand winner as soon as they get a look at one. These players did not settle into many long rallies. They tried to end points in a hurry with overpowering, angle-seeking groundstrokes. There was not a lot of subtlety in that match – it was all about throwing the first big punch without having to throw another. The match was up and down, but Lucic-Baroni rallied in the third set to win and make an unexpected Australian Open semifinal, where she lost to Serena Williams.
Pliskova, though, has remained steady on tour, making the semifinals in Indian Wells before losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova. Pliskova’s consistency is new, but it remains in place since her summer run to the top tier of the rankings. Lucic-Baroni is confident, but Pliskova is becoming too reliable a player to be doubted. Take Pliskova with your tennis picks in this matchup.
Pick: Pliskova in straight sets
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