TennisSection previews the 2022 Miami Open as Thanasi Kokkinakis takes on Denis Kudla in the third round on Sunday, March 27th, 2022.
In a battle between two qualifiers, a spot in the third round of the Miami Open will be at stake when Thanasi Kokkinakis locks horns with Denis Kudla. Both players achieved huge scalps on Friday beating players ranked inside the Top 30 of the ATP rankings. Who will prevail?
There is something so special about the Miami Open that seems to get the best out of Thanasi Kokkinakis. On Friday, the Australian qualifier notched his first victory over a Top 20 opponent in four years when he beat Diego Schwartzman in a nail biting three-setter. Incidentally, Kokkinakis’ last win over such caliber of opponents came at this tournament when he stunned Roger Federer in 2018. His recent spell of good health has enabled him to make up some ground in the ATP rankings. Having bagged a maiden ATP title at his home city of Adelaide and reaching the second week of Miami, Kokkinakis has re-entered the world’s Top 100.
It is not only Kokkinakis who has found form, but Denis Kudla is putting together the foundation of a major career relaunch. The American World No. 84 won his first ATP Challenger title since 2020 in Phoenix this past week, and has carried in a similar vein at the Miami Open. Victory over Lorenzo Sonego made it four wins on the trot in Florida (won two qualifying rounds), and has equaled his best run at the Miami Open.
Denis Kudla leads Thanasi Kokkinakis 2-0 in their head-to-head. As surprising as that record reads, their last encounter in Los Cabos last season was pretty tight, with Kudla sneaking a couple of tiebreakers to win. The American didn’t have a great start to the year, but managed to turn his fortunes around when the North American hard court season started. In contrast, Kokkinakis hit top form right out of the gate, winning a singles title in Adelaide at the start of January and the Australian Open doubles title alongside Nick Kyrgios. Kokkinakis has improved his rally tolerance and seems to be moving extremely well despite his documented injury record in the past. I think this will be another close affair, because both players have hit a purple patch. Kokkinakis, with his huge serve, might just shade it.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Thanasi Kokkinakis to win in 3 sets.
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