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2018 Miami Open: Five First-Round matches to look forward to

By Keshav Gopalan

KEY BISCAYNE, FL - APRIL 03: A general view of stadium court showing Andy Murray of Great Britain against Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in their semi-final match during the Miami Open Presented by Itau at Crandon Park Tennis Center on April 3, 2015 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
KEY BISCAYNE, FL - APRIL 03: A general view of stadium court showing Andy Murray of Great Britain against Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in their semi-final match during the Miami Open Presented by Itau at Crandon Park Tennis Center on April 3, 2015 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /
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The Miami Open begins with its first-round matches today. While the top 32 seeds were given a bye into the second round, there remain several interesting matchups in the first round. We pick the five most interesting ones to watch.

Alex de Minaur Vs Yoshihito Nishioka

Nishioka was out of action for nine months after a great start to his 2017 season
INDIAN WELLS, CA – MARCH 09: Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan follows through on a forehand to Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus during the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 9, 2018 in Indian Wells, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /

The Australian up-and-comer came through to the main draw in the qualifiers, while Yoshihito Nishioka from Japan sealed his place in the draw via a protected ranking. Nishioka, 22, suffered a torn ACL last year in his second round match against Jack Sock in Miami, ending his season prematurely after a fantastic start, with wins over Berdych and Karlovic in Indian Wells and a good match against Nadal in Acapulco.

Both players rely heavily on their groundstrokes, and with de Minaur looking dangerous and Nishioka back on tour for almost three months now, it’ll be interesting to see who prevails.

Denis Shapovalov vs Viktor Troicki

The pair met in Shanghai last year, where Troicki won in a tight three-setter. Both have explosive games and have had wildly unpredictable matches with fantastic shot making. Regardless of the result, expect an explosive, high-intensity match full of surprises.

Taylor Fritz vs Pierre-Hughes Herbert

Both players had a fantastic week in Indian Wells, reaching the fourth round. Herbert is enjoying a good season after a slump in form last year, while the same could also be said about Fritz, who finally seems to be finding his form. With both players with a booming serve and flashy forehands, expect the match to have some spectacular shots.

Next: Novak Djokovic: 2018 Miami Open critical in his comeback

Benoit Paire vs Mischa Zverev

Serve and Volley Zverev vs backhands galore will most definitely be a fun match to watch. While both players haven’t had a fantastic season so far, their games add up well, and it’s always a pleasure to watch a serve and volley player play.

Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Daniil Medvedev

Battle of the NextGen! Both players have polar opposite play styles, with Tstitsipas an aggressive baseliner who rushes to the net from time to time and has a loopy one-handed backhand and a very elegant play style. Meanwhile, Medvedev sticks to the baseline and has an unorthodox and flat style of play and is very capable of finding passing shots. This will most definitely be the most exciting first round match.

Do you agree with this list? If there are other interesting matches that you feel belongs to this list, let us know in the comments down below!

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