The Picks in Miami: Thursday, March 23

Victoria Azarenka
Mal Taam/MALTphoto

Marcos Giron vs Cristian Garin
The American Giron can move up the rankings. The former UCLA college champion took himself a while to grow, on court, and now he is ranked No. 71. But that is not enough. While he does hits the shots, constantly, but he is not more aggressive, and touch on the lines. To be able to beat Garin, he has to not only to be patient, but he has to move forward. The South American Garin has had a difficult year, but at Indian Wells he qualified and then he upset the No. 4 Casper Ruud. That was a huge win, but he isn’t quite there,yet. On the hard courts, Giron will win in three long sets

Alex Molcan vs Jordan Thompson
Last year, Molcan was coming around. The Slovakian started going up the ladder, but over the past few months, he dropped, struggling. Now he is ranked top 56. He can be very patient, or when he gets the opportunity, he can swing very hard. He also said that he can win a huge tournament. He is still waiting.

Thompson qualified, which means that he is playing pretty well, but the 28-year-old have lost to many different players. He did have a terrific win, at IW, upsetting Stefanos Tsitsipas. However, he lost in the next round, so the No. 83 is not consistent. Molcan will out-hit Thompson, in the third set, with some very hard forehands.

Victoria Azarenka vs Camila Giorgi
Where is the former two-time Grand Slam champion Azarenka going? To play great, day after day, or stay there for a few days, and then, she will go down, unsure that she can exactly do. She has to prove it once again.

The Italian Giorgi has had a decent season, winning Mexico in February. Yes, she has been there for a long time, but now, even though she can be steady, but to beat most anyone, she has to jump on the ball ASAP. Azarenka did reach the semis at the 2023 Australian Open, so when she is there and healthy, then this incredible player can hit so many excellent winners. But, after Melbourne, she lost early, a lot. In her first match, it appears that she is heathy enough and push Giorgi outside of the wall. Azarenka will win in two sets.

Wednesday’s predictions

Correct: Bianca Andreescu  vs. Emma Raducanu
Correct: Sloane Stephens vs. Shelby Rogers
Andy Murray vs. Dusan Lajovin

Jordan Thompson stuns Stefanos Tsitsipas

Stefanos Tsitsipas
Mal Taam/MALTphoto

INDIAN WELLS – Players can overjoyed, especially they are hitting their shots very deep from both sides. Also, strong returns and the ability to chip it when you are going into the net can be a big assets on these courts.

Jordan Thompson did, upsetting Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(5) in the third set. Tsitsipas missed two key shots, and the Aussie Thompson finally rose.


“I have been on a bit of run of matches. I felt confident, even playing against a top-10 player I felt comfortable in my own skin and what I was doing, and just snuck out a win,” Thompson said. “It feels unbelievable.”

The first and second rounds can always be tricky. Players who have not played yet at this tournament can be unsure of the surroundings. However, many of the players have done it for years and years and know you have to adjust, and fast.

Three veterans won on Friday: Jelena Ostapenko, Barbora Krejcikova and Petra Kvitova. They hope they can bang into the second week. They all have won a number of big events, but they can also be ineffective if they are not feeling right. 

Kvitova and Ostapenko will face off in the round of 32. The last time they played was on the Eastbourne grass last year, with the Czech veteran winning easily. But in California on hard courts, Kvitova will try to hit big immediately, with her first serve, backhand and forehand. However, her foot speed has dropped a little bit.

Kvitova said, “I think you can expect quick game, one, two shots max. We played final of Eastbourne before I lost on the hard court from the match point against Jelena. We practiced few times as well. We know each other pretty well. Yeah, it will be quick game for sure. I will not have a time to think where I’m going to put my ball. Any times I gonna feel it I will go there.”

There are some amazing matches already in the desert. On Thursday night, Sofia Kenin somewhat easily beat Sloane Stephens 6-4, 6-1 late at night. Kenin was very good — finally — bending down and blasting her forehand and backhand. A few years ago, the former Roland Garros champ Stephens was so steady, but now she is mentally down, and she has yet to add a few more shots. She went from being steady, but currently she is so erratic.

Emma Raducanu, who beat Danka Kovinic, is trying to get back into the top 10 this year. She looked very decent, and she is more aggressive, yet she does need to get a string of victories.
 
American Emma Navarro took down Caty McNally in three sets, when it was very late and cold. She was steady, while McNally was frustrated.

On the court, Ben Shelton is so enthusiastic and he celebrates all the time. When he is on, then he can attack, and he can be steady. He crushed Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-1. However, in the next round he has to play Taylor Fritz, who won the tournament last year. On the big stadium, in the afternoon, the sun will be very warm, and they will sweat hard in what should be an excellent matchup.