Miami Tennis Day 6 Picks 2026 (Sunday 22nd March)

The conditions have meant a lot of tennis has been loaded into the last couple of days at the Miami Open, but the tournament should feel like it is back on track.

We have another relatively busy schedule, but there is only one selection that has come to the fore and that can be read below.

Arthur Fils - 1.5 games v Stefanos Tsitsipas: These two players have met four times on the Tour and it is Arthur Fils who has managed to work his way past Stefanos Tsitsipas each time- one of those wins was when the latter had to retire very early in the match, but the other three victories have been completed with a Match Point converted and that will give Fils plenty of confidence.

The first two wins were secured on the hard courts, although the last of those matches was at the back end of the 2024 season.

However, it was a time when Stefanos Tsitsipas was the higher Ranked player and at a time when Arthur Fils was still building his way up the World Rankings.

The last twelve months have been very difficult for Stefanos Tsitsipas and he entered the Miami Masters the World Number 51 and had lost three matches in a row. He has won consecutive matches in this tournament, which is only the second time Tsitsipas has managed that in a main Tour event in 2026, while he should take confidence from the Second Round victory over Alex De Minaur.

That has been a match up that has been heavily in Stefanos Tsitsipas' favour and so there is a different mental challenge ahead of this Third Round match.

Arthur Fils has been in fine form since returning from an injury that forced him to miss the Australian Open.

The Frenchman has reached the Final in Doha and the Quarter Final last week in Indian Wells and Arthur Fils will be looking for a confidence boosting run ahead of the clay court season when there is pressure on his shoulders as the leading home player going into the French Open. With that said, it is important to make sure he is pushing into the Seeding positions for the second Grand Slam of the season and a couple more wins in Miami will build up some momentum to push deeper into the top 32.

Out of the two players, Arthur Fils does have a considerable edge on the return of serve and that could be the difference maker on the day.

That was the case in the two hard court wins the 21 year old has had over Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2024 and the confidence of the younger player is at a pretty good level.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is more than capable of producing some very good tennis on this surface, but Arthur Fils may just edge him out.

MY PICKS: Arthur Fils - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Miami Update: 11-5, + 5.87 Units (15 Units Staked, + 39.13% Yield)

Miami Tennis Day 3 Picks 2026 (Thursday 19th March)

Early reports indicated it was going to be a wet start to the Miami Masters, but a complete washout on Day 2 is a real disappointment for the fans.

It all adds up to an extremely busy Thursday when almost the entire First Round of the ATP tournament and the majority of the WTA event have to be completed- some of the Second Round matches that were due to be played on Thursday are scheduled to go out on the new Stadium court, but we are already in catch up mode at the tournament.

The two selections that were made from Day 2 will have to be played on Thursday and there are two more selections below that were originally in the batch of remaining First Round matches due to be played on Day 3.

A few Second Round selections had been identified from the WTA event being played here, but those will be out in the Day 4 thread- with the majority of those matches set to be scheduled for Friday being put together at the end of play on Thursday, further selections will be added to that thread on the day as we also try to keep up with a tournament that would have appreciated having some tennis on Day 2 instead of the complete wipeout of a day.

Marin Cilic - 2.5 games v Alexei Popyrin: He will be turning 38 years old later this year, but Marin Cilic still feels he has enough in the tank to compete at a level that will make him feel satisfied. Early results have been pretty solid in 2026, including reaching a Semi Final in Dallas, but Marin Cilic suffered opening defeats in Delray Beach and Indian Wells.

Instead of taking in a Challenger event last week, Marin Cilic will have headed over to Miami and begun preparation for the next Masters event on the calendar.

The faster surfaces remain his favourite domain and Marin Cilic may be targeting a strong run that can help him move closer to the Seeding positions for the next two Grand Slams on the clay courts and grass courts. You would definitely like his chances of having an impact at Wimbledon, but Marin Cilic is pretty competent on all surfaces and he is rightly set as the favourite for this First Round match.

Alexei Popyrin entered the top 20 of the World Rankings in August 2025 to reach a new career high mark, but his form since then has been disappointing.

Now the Australian will be entering the Miami Masters as the World Number 47 and it is really concerning to see Alexei Popyrin holding a 9-23 record on the hard courts since the beginning of the 2025 season. He is at 2-8 for the 2026 season and that is largely down the pressure that Popyrin has faced on the return with less than 30% of returning points won in those ten matches.

The serve will always be a potentially dangerous weapon, but Alexei Popyrin has not been able to play the big points effectively with the pressure that has been put on him by his own struggles.

Marin Cilic can put pressure on with his own strong serve, while the veteran has also been the much more effective return player in the opening months of the season.

The 2-1 head to head in favour of the Croatian will also help mentally and that includes a very strong win in Miami, albeit back in 2022.

The last meeting came thirteen months ago on the hard courts of Dubai, and Marin Cilic rallied in that one for another victory over Alexei Popyrin and he may have the higher confidence level to come through this First Round match.

Alex Michelsen - 3.5 games v Mattia Bellucci: Any time someone comes through the Qualifiers, they have to be respected and that is certainly the case for Mattia Bellucci who also reached the Final of a Challenger event in between these two big Masters events played in North America.

That run will have given him confidence, although it should also be noted it would have been in a field where players are not quite of the level that he is going to be facing in the main draw.

However, this is a winnable match for the lefty and Mattia Bellucci will have some confidence behind him after a difficult opening to the 2026 season- he will surely be looking forward to the run on the clay courts coming up, but Bellucci has shown he can be competitive on the hard courts.

Over the last twelve months he has tended to struggle against the higher Ranked opponents faced though and that is the situation for the Italian in the Miami First Round.

Alex Michelsen has had some mixed results, but a strong run in Indian Wells will have done him the world of good and he can use the home crowd to push through this opening match.

At 21 years old, Michelsen will know there is room for improvement, but he has a serve that can be effective and his return numbers have been much better when facing those Ranked below him. That is evident over the last twelve months and Alex Michelsen is expected to get the better of Mattia Bellucci having beaten him on the Washington hard courts a little over eighteen months ago.

MY PICKS: Marin Cilic - 2.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Alex Michelsen - 3.5 Games @ 2.25 William Hill (1 Unit)

Miami Masters Tennis Picks 2023 (March 30th)

This is going to be a pretty short thread and that is because I do not have any selections from the matches scheduled to be played on Thursday at the Miami Masters.

The Quarter Final Pick from Petra Kvitova vs Ekaterina Alexandrova has been held over from Wednesday as poor weather hit South Florida and that is scheduled to be played, but the three ATP Quarter Final matches and the one WTA Semi Final match look difficult to call.

A few thoughts below.

The WTA Semi Final between Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula looks incredibly close to call and the layers have it spot on with the former as a narrow favourite. I do think Pegula could earn the upset having beaten Rybakina twice before, but the latest win was in a third set tie-breaker that could have easily gone the other way and I am finding it very hard to be certain one way or the other.

Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov should both win their Quarter Final matches, but the former is being asked to cover a very big spread against an opponent who has a serve that could be difficult to break. To ask Medvedev to break at least three times might be too much, while Karen Khachanov has a tough opponent in front of him who is playing some strong hard court tennis in Miami.

Once again, the spread looks right on the money.

The Carlos Alcaraz vs Taylor Fritz match has been carried over from Wednesday and I was not convinced by any selection then and that remains the case.

Hopefully there will be a Pick or two to be made from the three matches that will be scheduled for Friday, but we will see.

MY PICKS: Petra Kvitova - 2.5 Games (Advised Wednesday)

Miami Update: 26-26, - 8.18 Units (106 Units Staked, - 7.72% Yield)

Miami Masters Tennis Picks 2023 (March 29th)

It looked like being a strong bounce back day for the Tennis Picks, but frustratingly it was not to be.

Once again it came down to the fine margins, so I am not too disappointed with the selection method, but the fortune has been missing in this Miami Masters Tournament. You always need a bit of luck to get over the line, but I could not have come much closer on a few occasions through this tournament with the majority of those going the wrong way.

It happens in a long season, and the fact that the Picks have come so close to having another really good week keeps me confident in the manner in which they are being selected. Obviously winners would be the best way to keep the confidence in a good place!

Petra Kvitova - 2.5 games v Ekaterina Alexandrova: A low key opening to the season Down Under was followed by some poor results in Linz, Doha and Indian Wells and so there wouldn't have been a lot of expectation around Ekaterina Alexandrova at the beginning of the Miami Masters. Despite the underwhelming results, Alexandrova reached a new career high World Ranking just last month and the confidence has clearly not been lost through a poor run of form as the World Number 18 has made it through to the Quarter Final.

A really bad injury looks to have been suffered by Bianca Andreescu in the Fourth Round otherwise it might have been the Canadian and not Ekaterina Alexandrova lining up for this match. However, all credit has to be given to Alexandrova for the performance in the win over Belinda Bencic in the Third Round and she has proven to be a pretty steady hard court player over the last twelve months.

I would expect Ekaterina Alexandrova to have to be better than 'steady' if she is going to beat Petra Kvitova considering the start made to the 2023 season by the now veteran of the Tour. Last year was not the best for Kvitova on the hard courts, but she has looked much stronger in 2023 and you could make an argument that Petra Kvitova has beaten all of the players she should have and lost to those she probably should lose to at this stage of her career.

It is quite amazing to think of Petra Kvitova as a veteran, but she is 33 years old now and she holds a 6-4 record when facing top 20 Ranked opponents on the hard courts over the last twelve months. The numbers are pretty average in that time, especially on the return of serve, and she has to respect how well Ekaterina Alexandrova can play when at her best.

Finding her best consistently has been the problem, but you have to imagine Alexandrova is feeling about as good about her tennis as she can now she has reached the Quarter Final in Miami.

Petra Kvitova has also never been beyond the Quarter Final in Miami and things have changed for both players since the former crushed Ekaterina Alexandrova at the Australian Open in 2020.

I still think the Czech lefty might have a slight edge, but this should be a lot more competitive than their sole previous match was.

Ekaterina Alexandrova will have to serve well, but she is capable, although I do think the overall performances of the players this season gives Petra Kvitova the edge at the key moments in this match. Even in this tournament, Petra Kvitova has played well enough at the right times to progress to another Quarter Final and I think she will play the big points with enough authority to finally make the Semi Final at this Masters event.

MY PICKS: Petra Kvitova - 2.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Miami Update: 26-26, - 8.18 Units (106 Units Staked, - 7.72% Yield)

Miami Masters Tennis Picks 2023 (March 28th)

It was a tough day for the Tennis Picks and ended with a 2-3 record, but there is still some time left at the Miami Masters to turn things back in our favour.

The WTA Fourth Round matches were concluded on Monday and it is the turn of the ATP tournament to have their entire Fourth Round played on Tuesday. We also have a couple of the WTA Quarter Final matches scheduled to be played and the expectation is that the entire schedule will be completed, despite the chance of some rain later in the evening in South Florida.

Now we have gotten into the later stages of the Miami Masters, there are some top matches scheduled to be played and you can read my thoughts for the day below.

Carlos Alcaraz - 4.5 games v Tommy Paul: Novak Djokovic is likely going to have something to say about this over the next several months, but there isn't a player performing at a higher level than Carlos Alcaraz playing in Miami at this Masters tournament. Daniil Medvedev might have had a case to make, but he was dismissed by the World Number 1 in the Indian Wells Final and Carlos Alcaraz is a favourite to complete the Sunshine Double having dominated in his two wins in this event.

He hasn't only been feasting on the kind of draw a Number 1 Seed can earn, but Carlos Alcaraz has wins over the likes of Cameron Norrie, Jannik Sinner and Medvedev and is a significant favourite against Tommy Paul in this Fourth Round match.

The American deserves a lot of credit for the kind of improvements he has made in his tennis over the last eighteen months and Tommy Paul is going to be back at his career best World Ranking of Number 18 regardless of the result on Tuesday. He could move much further up the World Rankings by going on and winning the Miami Masters, but over the last twelve months we have seen Tommy Paul struggle to compete with the top 10 players on the Tour, even on his favourite hard court surface.

In saying that, Tommy Paul did beat Carlos Alcaraz at the Canadian Masters last summer, although he had to save a lot of Break Points on the day. You have to think it would not take a lot to change the outcome of that match for the World Number 1, and the numbers produced in the last two hard court tournaments are extremely strong.

A strong serve should keep Tommy Paul at bay, but Carlos Alcaraz is also breaking in 36% of return games played and I do think he will put Paul under pressure.

In the eight matches played against top ten Ranked opponents on the hard courts over the last twelve months, Tommy Paul has actually won fewer than 60% of service points played and I expect he will need to fend off plenty of Break Points in this match against Carlos Alcaraz. He may even be able to do that, but the pressure could be telling and Alcaraz looks like a player keen to hold onto the Number 1 Ranking before the start of the clay court season, one in which he will feel amongst the favourites to win the French Open.

Carlos Alcaraz can earn the revenge for the sole loss to Tommy Paul at this event and I think he is playing at an extremely high level that can see him break down the opponent.

Jannik Sinner - 2.5 games v Andrey Rublev: I have a lot of time for Andrey Rublev, who seems a genuinely good person, but he will need to give himself time to really appreciate how good a tennis player he is. I say that in light of the recent viral video which saw him talking up Carlos Alcaraz having watched him hitting in training, while also downplaying his own ability and that may have contributed to the tough results Rublev has had against the better players on the Tour.

In Tennis, like many sports, you need to have belief in yourself before you can really produce your best.

I think Andrey Rublev knows he is a good player, but he certainly feels there are better players out there and that can produce a mental hurdle that is difficult to overcome in the most pressurised of spots.

Over the last twelve months, Andrey Rublev has a 5-8 record against top 20 Ranked players on the hard courts, and his numbers drop significantly on the serve and return in those matches compared with his overall totals. He is clearly a capable player, but Rublev perhaps does not see himself in the same way as those around him in the Rankings and that has contributed to the big drop in level.

He is facing a tough opponent in Jannik Sinner in this big Fourth Round match, but the Italian has also struggled to a 2-6 record against top 20 Ranked players on the hard courts over the last twelve months. However, Jannik Sinner has been unfortunate in a couple of very close matches that could have easily gone his way and that is backed up by the numbers.

Jannik Sinner needs to get a little more out of his serve when it comes to playing the better players on the Tour, but we have seen signs of that in 2023. In five matches against top 20 Ranked players on this surface this calendar year, Sinner has won 65% of his service points played and he has stronger numbers on the serve and return compared with Andrey Rublev.

They have met four times on the Tour, but Rublev's two wins have come in matches that have not been finished as Jannik Sinner has been forced to 'retire'. The other two have resulted in Sinner wins, but this is the first time they will have had a proper match on the hard courts (just three games played when they faced off in Vienna in October 2020).

While I am anticipating a close match, I do think Jannik Sinner has been the stronger player to open 2023 and has had a bit more success when facing the stronger players compared with Andrey Rublev. I am expecting Sinner to get a bit more out of the return of serve and that could be key to the outcome of this Fourth Round match and I will look for him to progress.

MY PICKS: Carlos Alcaraz - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Jannik Sinner - 2.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Taylor Fritz - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Emil Ruusuvuori - 2.5 Games @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Stefanos Tsitsipas @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Miami Update: 24-23, - 5.44 Units (96 Units Staked, - 5.67% Yield)

Miami Masters Tennis Picks 2023 (March 26th)

While not quite being the same bounce back as Friday, it was still a positive day for the Tennis Picks on Saturday as I continue to climb out of the early hole for the selections.

Now we are into the Third Round matches in both the ATP and WTA events being played in Miami and that means the matches should increase in quality even further from some of the good matches that have already been produced.

Hopefully I can make it three straight winning days with the selections below.

Time should be on my side for the remainder of the tournament and I will write out a few reasonings behind some of the Picks from Monday through to the Finals next week.

MY PICKS: Tommy Paul - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Andrey Rublev - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Emil Ruusuvuori - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Karolina Pliskova @ 2.10 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Karolina Muchova - 3.5 Games @ 1.75 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Aryna Sabalenka - 5.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Miami Update: 18-18, - 4.94 Units (74 Units Staked, - 6.68% Yield)

Miami Masters Tennis Picks 2023 (March 24th)

That was the worst day I've probably had in 2023 as far as the Tennis Picks are concerned.

I can't help but be a touch frustrated too- all three WTA selections lost, but two of the players actually got to Match Point at a time when it would have been enough to secure the cover of the spread. Instead they both missed out and that was only a part of the poor day at the office.

A second ATP retirement on the brink of a winning selection didn't help, while I have to be disappointed with one of my borderline picks that perhaps should never have been made.

Adjustments have been key to the successful start to 2023, but I will make the selections from Friday expecting much better results compared with Thursday's efforts. If not, it might be a time to just sit back and take some time over the weekend to have a look at where I might be going wrong, but that will be something I decide after the schedule for the day is completed.

I will have a post up on Saturday regardless of my decision for the weekend Tennis Picks, but below you will be able to see the Friday selections as the Second Round continues for those in the WTA Tournament. Some of the bigger names on the ATP Tour are also in action for the first time in Miami this week as the Second Round of that tournament begins and that means another very busy day at the event.

MY PICKS: Andrey Rublev - 3.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)

Jannik Sinner - 5.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Holger Rune - 3.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Alexander Zverev - 4.5 Games @ 2.10 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Maria Sakkari - 1.5 Games @ 1.90 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Karolina Pliskova - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (2 Units)

Karolina Muchova - 5.5 Games @ 1.90 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Barbora Krejcikova - 5.5 Games @ 2.10 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Petra Kvitova - 2.5 Games @ 1.85 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Donna Vekic - 5.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (2 Units)

Belinda Bencic - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Miami Update: 6-11, - 11.86 Units (36 Units Staked, - 32.94% Yield)

Miami Masters Tennis Picks 2023 (March 22nd)

It was not a good start to the new week, but I think there was some misfortune with one of the two selections made on Tuesday at the Miami Masters.

After moving into commanding positions in each of the three sets played, Camila Giorgi found a way to give up her advantages and ultimately needed three tie-breakers in her victory.

That is disappointing, but it is only the start of the week.

The extremely early start times in the early part of the draw has made it a tad difficult to write out any analysis of the selections through the first two days, but hopefully I will find more time as the Miami Masters progresses into the Second Round and beyond.

MY PICKS: JJ Wolf - 1.5 Games @ 1.90 Bet365 (2 Units)

Marton Fucsovics - 4.5 Games @ 1.90 Bet365 (2 Units)

Andy Murray - 4.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Alexei Popyrin @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Ugo Humbert - 3.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Ashlyn Krueger - 0.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Marketa Vondrousova - 5.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Xinyu Wang @ 1.83 Bet Victor (2 Units)

Miami Update: 0-2, - 4 Units (4 Units Staked, - 100% Yield)

Miami Masters Tennis Picks 2023 (March 21st)

The first of the Sunshine Doubles is in the books with Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina winning the Indian Wells titles on Sunday, but there is no rest for the top players on both Tours as the Miami Masters is set to get into main draw action.

Once again the top Seeds will Receive a Bye into the Second Round, which means they do have a few days of rest between the two Masters tournaments.

Soon the attention will be moving from the hard courts to the clay courts as the run to the French Open begins from early April, but for now this is a big opportunity for those players that enjoy the hard courts to pick up some more vital World Rankings. Novak Djokovic is going to be missing from the ATP Masters event in Miami as he did in Indian Wells, but the status for entry is set to change in the United States and that should mean the current World Number 2 is able to travel for the big Masters events played before the US Open later in the year.

It does mean Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev will once again be the leading contenders to win the title, while the WTA Tour might finally have seen a couple of contenders head to the fore to challenge Iga Swiatek. The reality is that both Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina will be a threat in three of the four Grand Slams that are played on the Tour, but both will have something to prove when it comes to the clay courts on which the World Number 1 is a clear favourite to win the next Slam to be played.

The tournament schedule will have a more familiar feel than the Indian Wells one as we prepare for another couple of weeks of Masters Tennis.

A productive tournament was produced for the Tennis Picks thanks to Carlos Alcaraz beating Daniil Medvedev in the ATP Final at Indian Wells and I am looking for further progress at the Miami Masters. The updated seasonal and monthly totals can be seen below as I look for a strong opening to the Miami Tennis Picks to keep the momentum going into the clay court season.

The Tennis Tour is a long one and so you have to expect some peaks and troughs when the inches go against the selections, but I am happy with my adjustments that have produced a good set of results over the first two and a half months of the 2023 season.

I will have longer threads for days at the event as the tournament progresses, but for Tuesday you can see my selections below.

MY PICKS: Yulia Putintseva - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Camila Giorgi - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Tennis 2023: + 24.39 Units (243 Units Staked, + 10.04% Yield)

March 2023: + 10.45 Units (79 Units Staked, + 13.23% Yield)

February 2023: + 0.26 Units (18 Units Staked, + 1.44% Yield)

January 2023: + 13.68 Units (146 Units Staked, + 9.37% Yield)

Miami Masters Day 2 Tennis Picks 2021 (March 24th)

The opening days of the Miami Masters are going to involve a number of matches featuring Qualifiers and that means that not all the markets are compiled for the First Round matches.

I have a few selections from Day 2 of the main draw, but I could potentially add some Picks here once those matches featuring Qualifiers have some prices attached to them.

Day 1 turned a very slight profit with a 2-1 record, but a winning day is always one you have to appreciate. Hopefully it is the start of a positive two weeks to end the month before the clay court events start in early April.

I have my Tennis Picks below from Day 2, but I may still add a couple of Picks when the Qualifiers have been placed in the draws and if they fit the criteria.

Andrea Petkovic v Shuai Zhang: Injuries and a loss of form has afflicted both of these veterans of the WTA Tour and neither Andrea Petkovic nor Shuai Zhang has a lot of matches under their belt in 2021. Shuai Zhang is still considerably higher up the World Rankings than Andrea Petkovic, but that is partly down to the fact that 2020 was effectively a write off for the latter.

The German has opened 2021 at 1-3 on the Singles court, but Shuai Zhang isn't any better losing her sole match at the Australian Open and not participating in a Singles tournament either before or since the first Grand Slam of the season was played.

Andrea Petkovic will be disappointed with the results, but she has to be encouraged by how well she has competed. The numbers have backed that up and her last two matches have ended in final set decider defeats, and Petkovic has been returning well enough to believe she can still cause problems for opponents even if she is unlikely to turn back the clock and produce the form that took her into the top ten of the World Rankings a decade ago.

Well I think it is unlikely to be consistently produced to return to that kind of level in the World Rankings, but Petkovic has shown enough to open 2021 to believe she could find a way to earn her place back inside the top 100. The serve has some room for improvement, but that might also be a part of getting more comfortable performing on the knee, and it will be a test for Shuai Zhang to get on top of the return without the rhythm of playing competitive tennis.

It also should be noted that Andrea Petkovic has been returning well to open 2021 and that part of her game has regularly been stronger than the one that Shuai Zhang brings to the court. The Chinese player ended last season struggling on the hard courts too and I do think this pick 'em contests favours the narrow underdog.

It is Andrea Petkovic who leads the head to head 3-1, although their most recent match was won by Shuai Zhang. That came on a hard court to level up at 1-1, but both of those matches have been close and that is where the extra time Petkovic has spent in competition in 2021 could just give her the edge.

Neither has played for almost a month so it is only a narrow advantage having the matches behind her, but I think Andrea Petkovic can see this one through in three sets.

Frances Tiafoe - 3.5 games v Stefano Travaglia: I like Frances Tiafoe and there have been times I have watched him play and wonder why he is not much higher up the World Rankings. For whatever reason, the American has not really been able to find the consistency he would have liked and the hard court numbers are pretty average when they are broken down without the emotion of how I feel about a particularly player.

It doesn't matter what I personally feel about Tiafoe and the potential he has, the numbers don't tend to lie.

In previous years the serve was important for Frances Tiafoe, but he seems to have been working on improving what has been a disappointing return game. However it has come with a slight drop in the service numbers as he is perhaps not working on that side of his game as much as he would have been and it does mean Tiafoe is barely above 0.500 in hard court matches played since 2018.

Some of those have come at the lower level in Challengers and Futures Tournaments, but the overall feeling about Tiafoe is that he blows hot and cold within events and sometimes even within single matches.

Frances Tiafoe takes on Stefanos Travaglia who has had a couple of strong runs on the hard courts before the Australian Open, but who has since lost his opening match at each of the last three hard court events played. The Italian has actually lost four matches in a row if you include his defeat in the Final of the tournament played in preparation for the Australian Open and it has been a difficult run for Travaglia.

To be fair, he isn't a bad hard court player and has to be respected for the kind of level he can bring to the court. The serve can be a big weapon for Stefano Travaglia, but he has not really played up to his previous level which may be down to the fact he has been up against better quality players this season compared with the usual level of events he takes in.

One of the defeats that Stefano Travaglia has suffered in the last four came against Frances Tiafoe when these two met at Melbourne Park and it turned into a routine win for the latter after a tough opening set. On that day Tiafoe won 50% of return points played, although Travaglia did play well enough to win 40% of return points despite the relatively one-sided win produced by the American player.

The first set was tight and competitive that day because Frances Tiafoe was struggling behind serve, but he was very good in the last couple of sets. It can be hard to trust him at times because of the inconsistency I have mentioned, but Stefanos Travaglia has struggled in recent matches and I think the higher Ranked player can frank the win at the Australian Open.

Dominik Koepfer - 3.5 games v Hugo Gaston: No one who watched will forget the efforts of Hugo Gaston at the French Open last October as he reached the Fourth Round before narrowly being beaten by Dominic Thiem. It helped him reach a career high World Ranking, but the 20 year old is still trying to push himself forward as he accepts a Wild Card into the Miami Masters.

In 2021 Hugo Gaston has reached the Semi Final of a hard court event on the Challenger Tour, but he has not really produced a lot of wins at the next level. Early defeats in Montpellier and Marseille have been suffered on indoor hard courts, while Gaston has struggled to impose his serve in hard court matches in his career so far.

The strength of the Frenchman's game is in the return of serve and he breaks at such a percentage that it does feel like he has a chance in this match. Hugo Gaston takes on Dominik Koepfer who reached the Semi Final in Acapulco in the last tournament before the Miami Masters, but who has only produced a 4-3 record on the hard courts in the 2021 season.

The Austrian has perhaps had the steadier hard court numbers of the two players and he has been pretty effective on the return of serve which means he should be able to match Hugo Gaston's strength and have the better of the weakness. Where Dominik Koepfer has been able to win around 62% of his service points played and hold 76% of his service games, Hugo Gaston has a 59% and 73% mark respectively despite playing the majority of his matches on a level below the main ATP one.

Dominik Koepfer also has the slightest of better returning numbers with 39% of return points won compared to Hugo Gaston's 38% mark on the hard courts and I do think the confidence of the performances in Acapulco hold the former in good stead. Conditions in Miami can sometimes be a touch slower than the other hard courts on the Tour, which will favour Gaston, but Dominik Koepfer is playing well enough to earn at least two more breaks of serve than the Frenchman over the course of this match.

While not a guarantee, the feeling is that those breaks will be enough to cover this mark as Koepfer moves through to the Second Round.

Cameron Norrie - 2.5 games v Yoshihito Nishioka: It has been as solid a start to 2021 for Cameron Norrie as it has been a poor one for Yoshihito Nishioka and the feeling is that the British player can get the better of this First Round match.

While Nishioka has won just two matches so far, Cameron Norrie has a Quarter Final and a Semi Final run under his belt, while the latter has also managed to earn his way through Qualifiers at other events to keep some momentum going. Cameron Norrie will be happy with his numbers having found some rhythm on the return side of the game which has enable him to back up the successes he has had behind the serve.

No one will dispute that there is room for improvement for Norrie who would love to get a little closer to his career best World Ranking which was achieved a couple of years ago. The 79% number of holding service games is decent, but nothing spectacular on the hard courts, but Cameron Norrie will be much happier with the almost 30% break percentage having won 41% of return points played on this surface this season.

Both of those are significant improvements on his 2020 numbers and Cameron Norrie seems to be playing the bigger points a little better which has seen him increase the percentage of service games being held compared with last season. Cameron Norrie will be tested by Yoshihito Nishioka who has shown he is a decent returner and will believe he can get after the Brit's serve.

Yoshihito Nishioka's real problems have been looking after the serve and he doesn't win a lot of cheap points which keeps him under some pressure. That has been the case this season, but a slight drop in the intensity on the return has meant it has been difficult for Nishioka to win matches and a real worry has to be how uncompetitive he has been in some of his defeats.

He has largely struggled on the return with only two of his eight matches played this season seeing Yoshihito Nishioka win at least 40% of return points played. It is not like the Japanese player and it has put him in a difficult position as he looks to improve his head to head lead over Cameron Norrie.

It is Yoshihito Nishioka who has won two of the three previous matches between these players, but they are 1-1 on the hard courts. The more recent of those matches was won by Cameron Norrie, although that was two years ago in Acapulco.

In that time the improvement looks to be in the Norrie performances and I think he is going to get the better of the return which should put him in a position to win the match and cover this mark. Yoshihito Nishioka is better than what he has shown in 2021, but he has struggled to impose his game on top 100 Ranked opponents on the hard courts since January 2020 including losing all six of those matches in 2021.

I expect that becomes all seven matches in the First Round in Miami and I think Cameron Norrie will win a few more of the big points to turn this match in his favour and cover this handicap spread set.

MY PICKS: Andrea Petkovic @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Frances Tiafoe - 3.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Dominik Koepfer - 3.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)

Cameron Norrie - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Season 2021: 2-1, + 0.76 Units (6 Units Staked, + 12.67% Yield)

Miami Masters Day 1 Tennis Picks 2021 (March 23rd)

There were always going to be questions as to how the Tennis Tour will deal with the multiple events that are scheduled around the world and whether it would be possible to draw the biggest names to those tournaments at a time when prize money has been drastically reduced.

Add in the different states of play as to how nations are dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic fifteen months into the outbreak and you can understand how players are feeling. As soon as the Indian Wells Masters was postponed for a second season in a row, the Miami Masters organisers must have feared whether the big names would arrive for a short trip to the United States before heading back to Europe for the start of the clay court season.

The ATP event being played in Miami has been decimated with almost a third of the top 100 players set to withdraw on the event of the tournament. Serena Williams has exited the WTA tournament being played at the same grounds, but that looks the better event being played with the majority of the top 20 outside of the American playing here.

The last hard court event of the Tour until the end of July will still be decent to watch, especially on the WTA side of things, but the loss of so many players means the door is open for a player on the ATP side of the bracket to come through and earn some big Ranking points before we return to the one year system later this season. On Tuesday, Day 1 of the main draws, the WTA First Round matches are scheduled before the ATP main draw gets underway the following day.

It will be a busy tournament, but hopefully we will get enough good Tennis to ignore the fact that this feels anything like a Masters event that it should have been.

The Tennis Picks have had a slow start to the 2021 season, but I have been convinced I have been lacking a bit of luck that could turn things around. That meant sticking with the criteria I have in determining which selections will be made on each day and last week I was rewarded with a very strong winning week.

That makes it back to back winning weeks on the Tour and I will look to keep the momentum going through the Miami Masters before the return of the clay court season which I did miss last season. The clay portion of the season is one of my favourites and I am looking forward to the time when I can return to Roland Garros and hopefully before Rafael Nadal calls it a day.

For now the concentration will be on the Miami Masters for the next two weeks and I will hopefully be able to back up the last two weeks.

Barbora Krejcikova - 4.5 games v Anna Blinkova: Reaching the Final in Dubai may still be a spark for Barbora Krejcikova on the Singles court this season as she hit her career best Ranking earlier this month. Losing that Final will have hurt, but Krejcikova has had some time to get past that and look to have one more strong run on a hard court before the move onto the clay courts.

She enters the First Round against Anna Blinkova who has struggled for consistency over the last several months.

The Russian player is 9-18 on the hard courts in 2020 and 2021 combined and it has to be some concern for Anna Blinkova that she has only won a single match in a main draw on the hard courts this season. She did get through the Qualifiers in Doha, but Blinkova has now lost three matches in a row which includes losing her first matches in the two events she entered in Mexico over the last couple of weeks.

Her numbers have not been very good in 2021 and it has seen Anna Blinkova's second serve severely tested, while the return game has room for improvement. She has won fewer return points than Barbora Krejcikova, while Blinkova's numbers have taken a serious dent in her matches against players Ranked inside the top 100 this season.

The Barbora Krejcikova serve is not one that is going to overwhelm opponents, but she will certainly feel she can keep Blinkova under duress if the latter can't find a way to improve her 36% of return points won against top 100 opponents. When you see the matches that Anna Blinkova has faced, it is hard to believe she is going to have more success against an in-form Krejcikova and I think it could end in a routine win for the Czech favourite.

Their sole previous meeting came on the clay courts almost two years ago and it ended in a very one-sided win for Barbora Krejcikova. I think this one will be closer, but she should still have the edge on a player that is struggling on the return and it should mean Krejcikova is able to earn at least three more breaks of serve than Anna Blinkova over the course of the match.

That margin should give her every chance of not only winning the match, but covering this mark too.

Anastasia Potapova - 3.5 games v Ajla Tomljanovic: There is much to like about the way 19 year old Anastasia Potapova is developing and she will be keen to celebrate her 20th birthday in Miami. Much will depend on whether Potapova is able to work her way through the draw having reached the Dubai Quarter Final earlier this month, although she will also be a little disappointed with her showing that match against Barbora Krejcikova.

Anastasia Potapova also reached the Third Round at the Australian Open last month, but it will be important for her to begin to show some consistency to start making a real move up the World Rankings. Her numbers haven't been bad on the hard courts, but Potapova has to find a way to increase her first serve percentage to at least get on top of matches.

Too many second serves will give Ajla Tomljanovic every chance of getting on the front foot against Potapova with an aggressive return of serve likely to pay dividends. The Australian has a losing record on the hard courts top open 2021 and that is a concern considering she ended 2020 with a losing mark too, while Tomljanovic's own second serve has proved to be vulnerable.

It is hard to imagine Ajla Tomljanovic is going to be able to keep up her first serve percentage from her early matches in 2021, a mark that is around 7-8% higher than her average first serves hit in the recent seasons on the Tour. Anastasia Potapova has had better success looking after her second serve compared with Ajla Tomljanovic and it could be a key in determining the winner of this match.

These two have met once on the hard courts a little over twelve months ago and it was Anastasia Potapova who came out on top. That was a match in which she created over four times as many break points as Ajla Tomljanovic and I think Anastasia Potapova is going to be able to have the better of the return in this one which helps her edge over this mark.

MY PICKS: Barbora Krejcikova - 4.5 Games @ 1.72 William Hill (2 Units)

Anastasia Potapova - 3.5 Games @ 1.90 Bet365 (2 Units)

Shelby Rogers - 4.5 Games @ 1.66 Bet Fred (2 Units)

Paula Badosa + 4.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)

Season 2021: - 1.98 Units (385.5 Units Staked, - 0.01% Yield)