TennisSection previews the 2021 Miami Open as Roberto Bautista-Agut (7) meets Jan-Lennard Struff (31) in the Third Round on Sunday March 28th, 2021.
This is shaping up to be yet another exciting Third Round clash here at the 2021 Miami Open, as seventh seed Roberto Bautista-Agut of Spain will face German Jan-Lennard Struff. These two veterans of the ATP Tour are sure to put on a show for the fans, and this is a classic “offense vs. defense” match. Will it be the ever-consistent Roberto Bautista-Agut getting the win and advancing to the Round of 16? Or can the flashy German Jan-Lennard Struff cause the upset?
Roberto Bautista-Agut is currently ranked #12 in the ATP world rankings and has been one of the most consistent and reliable performers over the past few years. An extremely solid baseliner, his flat penetrating groundstrokes are very difficult to handle and he gives very little away. He rarely loses to players much lower ranked than him as he is the type of player that must be hit through and dominated with power to defeat. After mixed performances lately, reaching the Final in Qatar and then losing in the Round of 16 in Dubai, he received a walkover here in the Second Round. His opponent Lloyd Harris was forced to pull out due to an injury and RBA will be grateful for the extra rest. He enters this match as the favorite over Jan-Lennard Struff and will be confident of advancing here at the 2021 Miami Open.
Jan-Lennard Struff is currently ranked #42 but has been as high as #29 in the ATP world rankings. After a solid year in 2019, he has failed to replicate that success recently and has seen his ranking slowly slide. He will be hoping for a strong showing here at the 2021 Miami Open to turn his fortunes around, but has run into a very difficult opponent in Roberto Bautista-Agut. A flashy baseliner with a big serve and groundstrokes, he is capable of beating anyone on his day, but is prone to numerous unforced errors. The ultra-consistent Bautista-Agut is not a good matchup for him and he will need to be at his absolutely best in order to get the win here. He was solid in his opening round win over Ricardas Berankis and will be hoping to cause the unlikely upset here.
This will be the fifth meeting between the two players on the ATP Tour, with Roberto Bautista-Agut currently heading the head to head series 3-1. While the Spaniard has dominated this matchup, Struff won the most recent match, in 2020 in Dubai. Despite that, I expect this match to only have one outcome and that is a straight-sets win for Roberto Bautista-Agut. Jan-Lennard Struff is a solid player, but the defense of RBA will likely be too much for him to handle and he will likely commit a string of unforced errors. That is a recipe for disaster against the Spaniard, and he should cruise into the Round of 16 here at the 2021 Miami Open without too much difficulty.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Roberto Bautista-Agut to win
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