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Clash of styles in the Miami quarterfinals, with the versatile Kei Nishikori taking on big server John Isner.
Nishikori continued his emergence as a top 10 player this season, but he has been a bit inconsistent, losing some matches he probably should have won. However, here at Miami Nishikori has been breathtaking, playing the best tennis of his life without dropping the level even fore a couple of minutes. Nishikori lost just 10 games in 3 matches against Youzhny, Troicki and Goffin – simply amazing, considering that the opponents were of pretty good level. The only thing which Kei can improve this week is his serving, as 20% of the games he dropped were against serve, but that`s his style.
John Isner finally seems to be over his almost 2 year long slump. The American played a very good tournament at Indian Wells, losing a tight match with Djokovic in Round 16 and he fully backed up that performance, playing even better tennis here in Miami. Big John routed Rublev and Dimitrov in two sets before winning a thriller with Raonic last round, edging the Canadian in three sets – the match not seeing a single break. Actually, Isner is yet to lose serve here in Miami and he lost serve just once in his last 6 matches (IW + Miami), to Djokovic.
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The Head 2 Head is 0-0, the two players never met before on tour. This is actually good news for Isner, because it means Nishikori will need some time to try and read his serve – maybe even a long time, considering how John has been hitting his first ball here in Miami.
Nishikori clearly looks the better player here, as his level of tennis was just out of this world. However, Isner will be a totally different type of opponent. Big John has been absolutely flawless on serve and I can see him keeping “a clean sheet” for at least the first set, until Nishikori starts to read his first ball. Kei himself should be more focused on his own serve, as he can`t afford the blips he had with Troicki and Goffin, not against a guy like Isner.
Look for Nishikori to win this, but Isner is playing his best tennis in a long time, he loves the Indian Wells – Miami double and he will be energized by the crowd. The first set should go all the way to a tiebreak, so that is my tip – a first set tiebreak to occur. Prediction: Kei Nishikori – John Isner 7-6 6-4.
Live streaming for Nishikori vs. Isner available at Bet365 for all funded accounts.
Pick: First set tiebreak – Yes
Odds: 2.50 @ Ladbrokes
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 10.5
Event date: 2 April
