It may be March Madness right now, but there’s no harm in indulging ourselves with some exciting tennis action.
The top players of the tennis world are set to mesmerize us with their talents again when they all collide for this year’s Miami Open. The tournament will be commencing this Wednesday and all eyes are likely on the defending champion Novak Djokovic and his archnemesis in Roger Federer, who is making his return from knee surgery.
No matter how good those two are though, there’s bound to be some notable competitors who can surprise us with upsets or even take home the trophy. And that being said, read on below as we take a look at a few sleepers worth keeping an eye on in this tournament.
If you want to know more notable players worth cashing on in the Miami Open, check out our preview and predictions piece afterwards.
Tennis News and Previews
Sleeper Picks for the 2016 Miami Open presented by Itau
Tomas Berdych
Tomas Berdych’s had a respectable 2016 campaign thus far. Right now, he’s 13-5 overall heading into the Miami Open. He should be able to quickly find his groove and make some noise in the tournament as he’s played pretty well on hard surfaces, owning a solid 11-4 record. That includes victories over commendable opponents like world No. 47 Borna Coric, No. 27 Nick Kyrgios and No. 17 Roberto Bautista Agut.Also, Berdych will have some momentum on his side, as he’s performed well in his recent competitions. He’s managed to make it into the quarterfinals in four of the last five tournaments, including a pair of appearances in the semi-final round against Kyrgios at Marseille and Novak Djokovic at Doha.
David Ferrer
David Ferrer may be 33 years old now, but he should still be able to raise some eyebrows nonetheless. He’s finished deep in his previous five tournaments, which includes a quarterfinals-appearance at the 2016 Australian Open. In that match, he took world No. 2 Andy Murray straight down the wire (6-3, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3).
However, Ferrer’s bound to be in a huge pile of trouble if he’s faced with Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer. Ferrer is 5-21 overall against the reigning champion and is winless against Federer across 16 matches.
Milos Raonic
Milos Raonic will be out for revenge in this tournament. He came up just one win short from winning the title at the Indian Wells Masters, losing to Novak Djokovic in the championship round.
Despite this, Raonic should still be feeling very confident about himself. He’ll be a very dangerous opponent for anyone especially since he seems to really love playing on the hard surface. The Canadian is 14-2 thus far this year and all of those wins have happened on the hard court. And also, Raonic has reached either the semifinals or the finals in his last three tournaments (Indian Wells, Australian Open and Brisbane).
There you have them—the hottest sleepers heading into the Miami Open. Create a betting account now and get in on what should be a promising tournament in the tennis world.