Miami Open 2019: Novak Djokovic vs Bernard Tomic, Preview and Prediction

The world number one Novak Djokovic will begin his quest for a seventh Miami Masters title with a match against an unpredictable Barnard Tomic.

The two have met each other five times, with the Serbian winning all of those matches. The best that the Aussie has managed so far is to take just one set off Djokovic, that too in their very first meeting way back in 2011 at the Wimbledon quarter final.

That was when a young Tomic was widely tipped as the next best thing in tennis. Things have not panned out that way for the Aussie. The former world number seventeen has been in news for wrong reasons more often than not, with his lack of focus being a major talking point.

As a result, his career so far has been a case of what-could-have-been. In recent times, he has shown some indication of getting his career back on track, and is now back among the top 100 players in the world.

However, he has had a disappointing 2019 so far. He lost in the first round of the Australian Open to Marin Cilic, followed by second and first round losses at New York Open and Delray Beach Open, respectively.

He has come to Miami on the back of qualifying round losses at Mexican Open and Indian Wells Masters. In his first round match at Miami, he was slated to meet Tomas Berdych, but with the Czech withdrawing from the tournament, he was handed a relatively easy encounter against the Brazilian qualifier – Thiago Monteiro.

He dismissed the Brazilian rather easily, and showed some glimpses of his old self. However, a lowly 40% win percentage on the second serve would be a worrying factor for him. He would need to improve substantially on all aspects of the game against Djokovic, especially his serve, against possibly the greatest returner in modern tennis.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic to win in Straight Sets