RICKY’S PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR DAY 5 IN MIAMI OPEN TENNIS – INCLUDING RAFA NADAL VS. KOHLSCHREIBER AND PAIRE VS. DONALD YOUNG

Written by: Staff on 25th March 2017

RICKY'S PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR DAY 5 IN MIAMI OPEN TENNIS - INCLUDING RAFA NADAL VS. KOHLSCHREIBER AND PAIRE VS. DONALD YOUNG

epa05868010 Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in action against Taylor Fritz of the US during the fourth day of the Miami Open tennis tournament on Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida, USA, 24 March 2017. EPA/ERIK S. LESSER |

Ricky’s preview and picks for Day 5 in Miami, including Nadal vs. Kohlschreiber and Paire vs. Young

By Ricky Dimon

Rafael Nadal will continue his Miami Open campaign on Sunday, when he takes the court against Philipp Kohlschreiber during third-round action. Donald Young is hoping to keep his hot streak going, and Kei Nishikori is attempting to defend another chunk of his 2016 runner-up points.

Ricky previews three of Sunday’s best matches and makes his predictions.

(5) Rafael Nadal vs. (26) Philipp Kohlschreiber

Nadal and Kohlschreiber will be squaring off for the 15th time in their careers on Sunday, with Nadal leading the head-to-head series 13-1 (7-0 on hard courts). Kohlschreiber’s only win came when the Spaniard is often at his most vulnerable–the week immediately following a French Open title when the surface changes from clay to grass. At the 2012 Halle event, right after Nadal clinched a seventh title at Roland Garros, Kohlschreiber rolled 6-3, 6-4 in a quarterfinal contest. Nadal has since reeled off five victories in a row, most recently getting the job done 6-3, 6-3 last spring on the clay courts of Rome.

Nadal got off to a decent enough start this fortnight by beating Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-4 without dropping serve. In typical Kohlschreiber fashion, the veteran German is in solid but unspectacular form this season. He just barely missed out on the spectacular in Dubai, where he blew seven match points against world No. 1 Andy Murray, lost a 30-minute tiebreaker, and eventually succumbed 6-7(4), 7-6(18), 6-1. Kohlschreiber is 10-6 this season after coming back from 5-2 down in the third set to defeat Taylor Fritz on Friday. Against Nadal, Kohlschreiber cannot afford the wild shifts in his level that were on display against the young American.

Pick: Nadal in 2

Benoit Paire vs. Donald Young

Donald Young of the US in action against Dustin Brown of Germany during a first round match at the Miami Open tennis tournament on Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida, USA, 22 March 2017. EPA/ERIK S. LESSER

Young’s season began with a first-round Challenger loss to Ruben Bemelmans and a second-round Australian Open blowout suffered against Kohlschreiber. Since then, though, the 27-year-old Atlanta native has been off to the races. He advanced to the semis in both Memphis and Delray Beach before making a fourth-round run in Indian Wells. Young now finds himself in the third round in Miami, where he has taken out Dustin Brown 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 and Lucas Pouille 6-2, 6-4.

Up next for the world No. 51 is a second career meeting with Paire, who won their only previous encounter 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 on the red clay of Casablanca in 2012. Paire’s appearance in the last 32 this fortnight is far more surprising than Young’s, as the Frenchman had been in the midst of a horrendous losing streak that reached five matches with a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Fritz in the California desert. So far in Miami, however, Paire has advanced with defeats of Martin Klizan (7-6(4), 6-3) and Pablo Cuevas (7-5, 6-0). In a showdown that is sure to feature sudden shifts in momentum, Young will likely be the more consistent of these two up-and-down competitors.

Pick: Young in 3

Fernando Verdasco vs. (2) Kei Nishikori

Nishikori and Verdasco will be facing each other for the fifth time in their careers. The head-to-head series is tied up at two victories apiece, although Nishikori has taken their last two contests–albeit in final sets. The current world No. 4 got the job done 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-4 at the 2015 Indian Wells Masters and prevailed 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-4 at last year’s French Open. Verdasco’s victories came back in 2011 (Australian Open) and 2012 (in Barcelona via retirement).

As the 2016 runner-up in Miami, Nishikori is in danger of falling to seventh in the world rankings–possibly surpassed this fortnight by Nadal, Milos Raonic, and Roger Federer. Japan’s top player took the first step toward to defending those points by rolling over Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-3 in the second round. Verdasco had a tougher time at the office in his opener but managed to scrape past American qualifier Ernesto Escobedo 7-6(9), 7-5. The Spaniard is 10-6 this year with semifinal finish in Doha and runner-up showing in Dubai. Needless to say, he is no longer in Middle East anymore–rather he is on Nishikori’s old stomping grounds of south Florida.

Pick: Nishikori in 2