Jessica Pegula over Danielle Collins
It is hard to figure out how she is playing. At certain weeks, Pegula plays so locked in, and other times, she will be exactly where she should go, and which kinds of shots. She can be obsessive, or then, she is thinking about should she go for it, immediately, or just be patient. Collins can also lose her control, as over the past 14 months, as she has been mediocare, at best. Yes, she did reach the finals at the 2022 Australian Open, which was wonderful, but after tht, she has only reached two semis. The veteran Collins really wants to become much better again, and as Pegula said, “It feels weird that we’re playing each other in the third round. It seems very soon, very early. We know each other’s games very well. But it’s going to be a very tough match.” It will, and Pegula will out-last Collins in three tough sets.
Coco Gauff over Nadia Podoroska
The last time that the played each other when Podoroska retired in Montreal, as she was hurt. Over the past two years, Gauff has improved a good amount, but now the Russian Podoroska has become much more important, with the 21-year-old won Linz in February. She can really hit, and also, she is very rapidly. However, while she can hit together some astounding shots, but she isn’t ready to take down the top 10 players, immediately. That can be soon, though. Gauff is pretty steady, and significant, but she still has to work with her forehand. That can be soon, though, but on the hardcourt, Gauff will bite Podoroska in three dramatic sets.
Ben Shelton over Adrian Mannarino
Each month, Shelton is improving a lot, and now the 20-year old is ranked No. 39. Not many of the young players are in the top 40, try just three, himself, Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune. Shelton is very swift player, and he yells, very loud, after he had smacked a winner. The fans really seem to like him. However, this year, he did had a fine tournaments at the Australian Open, but beyond that, he has lost a number of matches. Clearly, Shelton has to improve all the time, and then on court, he can think about which way to adjust the strokes.
The Frenchman Mannarino has played forever, each week, every where. He certainly loves to play all the time. Mannarino really mixes it up, and he is formal, but the reason why he has never gone deep at the Slams or the ATP 1000’s is because he isn’t fast enough. That will be a close match, but Shelton will drive his terrific forehand and win it in three marathon sets.
Friday picks
Correct: Belinda Bencic vs Leylah Fernandez
Correct: Andrey Rublevc vs J.J WolfAnhelina Kalinina vs Sofia Kenin
Matt’s Miami picks
6 out of 9: 66.7% correct