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ATP Miami: Friday Semi Finals Preview and Predictions

By Geoff Nichols

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ATP Miami: Friday Semi Finals Preview and Predictions

It is semi finals day at he ATP Miami Masters and the stage is set for two fantastic matches that will decide who makes the final. Novak Djokovic has dominated the US hard court swing to this point, but the other three remaining men will all believe they can take the Miami title with two good performances. The Serbian heads into the Easter weekend as favourite to do the Indian Wells and Miami double for the second year running.

John Isner is the surprise name in the semi final draw, having negotiated a tricky path that has included fifth seed Milos Raonic and fourth seed Kei Nishikori to book his meeting with Djokovic. Isner’s dismantling of Nishikori was one of the performances of the season, playing an attacking brand of tennis that his opponent simply could not live with.

In the other semi final the rivalry that intensified during their Australian Open semi final comes back to the fore, as Andy Murray looks to continue his stellar start to 2015. Thomas Berdych has also looked dangerous this year, although has regularly struggled to bridge the gap between beating lower ranked opponents and the Big Four.

The order of play has put Murray and Berdych on the Stadium court first up, with the British number one having played all his matches in both Indian Wells and Miami in the day time. Djokovic and Isner are given headline billing in the evening session where the crowd is likely to play a big part in the outcome of the match.

Friday 3rd Schedule

STADIUM

1:00 pm

[8] Tomas Berdych (CZE) v Andy Murray (GBR) [3]

Thomas Berdych has a 6-5 head to head lead over Andy Murray, which goes to show how his game matches up well with the counter punching style that Murray tends to adopt. What changed things for Murray in the Australian Open semi final, after losing the first set of course, was taking up a position closer to the baseline.

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Berdych is at his best when he can swing freely and he hits a big ball when he has time to really extend through his shots. Murray has found his serve and general weight of shot difficult to adjust to in the past and in a best of three set match, it could go away from his quickly if he doesn’t manage to find his groove. It could follow a similar pattern to Murray’s match against Thiem.

I think that the Czech player will take the first set before Murray clicks into gear. Murray will be aware that after Miami he is due an extended break from the tour to get married and thus will be ready to leave everything out on the court. We know that when Murray is in this kind of mood he can easily lose the first set and turn things around.

Murray in three

7:00 pm

[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) v [22] John Isner (USA)

Isner has been arguably the most impressive player in Miami so far, registering the most significant wins of any of the semi finalists. His serve has been at its dominant best and even the best returner in the world, that being Djokovic, might find it difficult to gain break point chances let alone a break of the big American’s serve.

What Isner will have to contest with is the patience of Djokovic. Isner could hit a wonderful forehand that would end the point against any other player on tour, but against the Serbian that ball could come back to a good length and Isner needs to keep focussed as Djokovic will test his resolve on the big points. Attack is the way to go, even if it seems like everything is coming back.

Djokovic is a mental giant and showed that in bucket loads when he looked down and out against Dolgopolov in the last 16. He will fight to the last and will back himself even if Isner is serving for the match. The belief translates to pressure on his opponent and it will depend on how Isner can deal with this as to whether he mounts a big challenge.

Djokovic in two

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Next: What is wrong with Rafael Nadal?

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