Two of the biggest servers on tour face off in an interesting clash in Miami, with 12th seed Milos Raonic taking on 24th seed Nick Kyrgios for a place in the semi-finals at the Miami Open. This match will take place on Stadium court at any time after 19:00 Miami Time (00:00 UK Time), and the winner will face off against 6th seed Kei Nishikori or 16th seed Gael Monfils in the semi-final.
It’s been a fairly comfortable road for both so far (neither have dropped a set), though Kyrgios has arguably been more comfortable so far. The Australian stormed past Marcos Baghdatis in his second round clash and has since been fairly comfortable against qualifier Tim Smyczek and Andrey Kuznetsov, with the latter being his most difficult match so far; Kyrgios has played some strong tennis and will be tough to beat. Raonic edged Denis Kudla and 31st seed Jack Sock in tight two sets to begin with, but stormed past Damir Dzumhur in his fourth round clash and the Indian Wells finalist is seemingly back near his best coming into this clash.
Serving is certainly the biggest strength for both and the player who is able to serve at a higher percentage could have a big advantage in this clash. Both Kyrgios and Raonic have also made improvements in their overall game which has led to their recent success, but it is arguably Raonic who has the stronger overall game and the Canadian should try to use this to full effect. The 12th seed should look to return well and should also try to dictate points from as early as possible. Raonic should also look to come into the net as much as possible, as this is another area he has the slightly stronger game. Kyrgios is not too far behind Raonic in terms of overall game strength however, and should try to dictate with his forehand as much as possible. The Australian should also look to get Raonic moving around the court, as movement is an area where Kyrgios is slightly stronger
Raonic leads the head to head 2-1, with all their previous meetings being majors, though Kyrgios won their last meeting; a four set win at Wimbledon last year. Kyrgios does have an opportunity in this clash, though Raonic has been in good form of late and should have enough to just edge this.
Prediction: Raonic in 3
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