We preview Grigor Dimitrov vs Feliciano Lopez and Andrey Rublev vs Martin Cilic in the last 64 of the Miami Open.
Grigor Dimitrov 6/10 | Feliciano Lopez 13/10
The demise of Grigor Dimitrov over the last year has been one of the more depressing narratives in tennis. Long touted as a successor to the so-called big-four, ‘Baby Fed’ looked primed to succeed in 2018. But nothing really happened. A semi-final in Monte Carlo was perhaps his most notable showing. Cracks started to show in Dubai with that upset to Malek Jaziri. Dimitrov then experienced opening round defeats at Wimbledon and the US Open. He started 2019 with some encouragement, reaching the quarter-finals in Brisbane. he then went to the final 16 of the Aussie Open, which seemed to indicate an upturn in fortunes for the Bulgarian. But his form has once again plateaued. The man with the exquisite single-handed backhand needs to find some traction as he looks to rebuild this year.
37-year-old Feliciano Lopez has six singles titles to his name and has become one of the most enduring journeymen on tour. He did reach as high as 12 in the world as recently as 2015 so it would be as one’s own peril to underestimate the popular Spaniard. He has eight hard-court finals to his name. He is a former Grand Slam quarter-finalist and largely finds success on the double’s circuit. The silky left-hander hasn’t exactly had the greatest year, with a retirement in Mexico highlighting some lingering injury concerns. But he will have drawn some confidence from his performance at Indian Wells. He beat Tomas Berdych prior to a defeat to Karen Khachanov. He beat Benoit Paire in the opening round here and is exactly the sort of street-smart customer who could pose Dimitrov some issues.
Dimitrov actually holds a very thin edge over Lopez, leading him 3-2 in the head-to-head stakes. Dimitrov has won all their hard-court meetings, including their last meeting in Cincinnati in 2017. I just have a feeling that the crafty Lopez could produce an upset here against the volatile Bulgarian.
Andrey Rublev 13/10 | Marin Cilic 6/10
Young Russian Andrey Rublev has been left somewhat in the rear-view by the likes of Karen Khachanov and Danil Medvedev over the last year. But he seems to have picked up of late following a poor 2018. The 2017 NextGen Finalist really struggled to get a footing when so much was expected of him. Strangely enough, his highlight of the season almost certainly came with a double’s victory in Miami alongside Karen Khachanov. Outside of that, it was largely a bust for the former Junior French Open Champion: he did manage a third place at the second staging of the NextGen Finals. But he seems to be slowly turning things around. He reached the quarter-finals of the Open 13 prior to a loss in the Oracle Challenger Series Final at Indian Wells. Rublev is a powerful baseliner who just needs one major result to potentially light his fuse.
Former US Open Champion Marin Cilic has emerged as perhaps the most consistent threat to the hegemony of the top guys. His loss in last year’s Aussie Open Final was as heart-breaking as it was controversial. The 18-time winner on tour had a frustrating year in the aftermath of Melbourne. He reached the semi-finals in Cincinnati before once again showing some Grand Slam mettle with a quarter-final at Flushing Meadows. He started the year with a gruelling Aussie Open. He would be eliminated in the fourth round following a sequence of epic encounters. He was then eliminated early in Dubai and Indian Wells. Cilic is clearly a class act but is perhaps starting to feel the physical strain of being such an arch-competitor over the last few years.
Cilic has won their one and only encounter, though that did come on the Geneva clay-courts way back in 2015. So it’s hard to really get a gauge on this one. I think that Rublev could represent decent value here in the context of an improved 2019. Cilic has looked jaded in recent weeks and is a player who perhaps struggles to get as enthused when mot participating in the Slams.
Written by Damien Kayat for Hollywoodbets.
