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Simon had a lot of ups and downs but in the end beat Kukushikn, who is still struggling with an arm injury. Simon admitted to not have been coping well with all the changes in conditions. Falla is clearly coping well because he has not had a tournament this successful since Halle in June last year. He tied 4 wins, beat Karlovic convincingly and before that turned things around in this match with Berrer. The Frenchman is Top 15 again. He is mentally more powerful than last season but his game in these kind of conditions is not that efficient. Falla would have to be able to put up a good fight and games over is therefore the best choice. He has not been on this kind of a roll in a long time and Simon will have a tougher job than the odds suggest. Details

Miami never suited good servers much, and Karlovic is no exception. He won only 3 out of his 13 matches here, Kubot and Gimeno in three sets Mathieu in two tie-breaks last year. That may not be crucial but it will definitely help Falla, who already has three matches here. He turned the match against Berrer around, which is why I think his confidence is quite high. He is well-experienced and knows how to play Karlovic. They played in Bogota two years ago and the Croatian won with only one break to win in the end. Ivo went on to win the title without losng a single service point. But this surface is not as fast and I think Falla will do well. He may surprise Karlovic too. The match should end in over for sure, though. Details

I've always liked Youzhny's tennis, but this season, it's just not good. Even though supposedly he can't fully heal an injury, his body language shows there are much bigger problems when he's playing. He's not energetic, or aggressive. His single-handed backhand isn't there, and he's standing behind the baseline too much. The only time he connected wins this year was in Zagreb. He was losing 4-2 to Kavčić in the third set then, and the Slovenian had another foot surgery afterwards. Youzhny defeated Hanescu at the Indian Wells, with only one tie-breaker. He defeated Golubev here, but the Khazak could make any coach feel super depressed. Even though he won the first set, he kept trying to hit winners, and sent short balls to the bottom of the net. Probably because of the ratio against Youzhny, which is now 6-1 in Youzhny's favor. But, what's more important in all that is that there was nothing new to see from Youzhny. He's still passive, and he won't be able to feast on Nishikori's mistakes. Kei is in the top now, and Youzhny looked powerless against Federer and Nadal this season. As for Nishikori, his only mistake was against Lopez, but the Spaniard is almost in the Top 10 again. Also, his left-handed serve is excellent, and can give a hard time to any player any day. Youzhny is only a shadow of a player he used to be. He's out of top 60, he says he doesn't plan on playing the challengers, and a lot of things point to him announcing his retirement by the end of the year. He can't match the best players anymore, and Nishikori is going to prove that. The fact that Kei was eliminated from the Indian Wells could actually be good for this bet. He's practicing at an academy close to Miami, and he's ready for these conditions. Details

Even though the games over bet at Krajicek-Istomin didn't work out, I was on the right track. The American lost to the same opponent at Indian Wells and got his revenge here. Krajicek is not a typical American, as I often say. Tomic is somehow managing to play his best season ever, regardless of all the scandals and all he media pressure. He is not impressive, but wins regularly. He tied wins in all of the 7 tournaments he did this season. He beat Ferrer last week, which was the greatest win of the season. He was not his best level against Kokkinakis and then pulled out of the Djokovic match with back problems caused by the hip surgery he had. He's been tired and then last week had a wisdom tooth infection. Antibiotics helped but he should have pulled out of this tournament. I think the only reason he didn't is the penalty you get when cancelling a Series 100 tournament. If you remember, he won once game here last year to protest the ATP rules. He complained about being forced to play. The situation is different now but he is not at his best. Krajicek is far better than his ranking. Even if there were no problems with his back and teeth, I would consider betting on this. Krajicek is far better than his ranking suggests. He beat Karlovic in Memphis, got a set against Nishikori and he's mentally powerful. He had a slip in Acapulco but the conditions were insupportable there. Besides, Tomic never did well here, having never win round two match in 4 seasons. He lost to Murray and Ferrer, but to Andujar as well. He covered this handicap in both wins and Krajicek can cover it in two sets, even though, I believe he can surprise today. Details

I said in the title that they probably consider each other a good draw. Rublev is 17, but has the confidence of Ćorić, and will play better here than at a challenger. Last year he's been dubbed the best junior player in the world, this season he already got a challenger quarterfinal and an ATP victory, as well as a successful Davis Cup performance, while he started the season as late as February. He is the biggest hope of Russian tennis. I have great respect for Busta. He got to where he is through hard work and came back from the abyss after big back problems. Regardless of the success, he is still primarily a clay player, able to return a lot, which is his play on concrete. He has no weak sides, but no major strengths either. Rublev is definitely underrated and can get a set, but winning will be much harder, as the Spaniard is a tough nut to crack. He proved that this year, despite not doing so well. In short, everything points to a long match where the young talent will show why everyone expects so much of him, while Busta will likely muscle his way to victory. It should be a close match. Details

Janowicz is 5-0 in head-to-head matches against Vasselin but he's far from being dominant. The record is 'fresh' since 4 of those h2h matches were played over the past year. The Pole won only one of those matches in straight sets, the others were dramatic, especially since two finished in third set tie-break. They also played last week. Janowicz won the third set convincingly back then but they finished with the same number of points in the end. Vasseling was never good in finishes, which is why he is not longer in Top 100. But, his game is like a game of a Top 50 player. He has only two straight sets defeats this season, both against his compatriots. Janowicz, on the other hand, has too many ups and downs. He played three matches in three sets since coming to the US and this string of tournaments never suits him really. The Frenchman got into main draw through qualifying matches and I expect another nerve-wrecking match. Details

The second meeting between Istomin and Krajicek in three weeks. They played at Indian Wells and Istomin won in straight sets but it was close. There was only one break in the whole match even though the American hit less than 50% of first serves. Krajiced made it to Miami main draw through qualilfying matches. He saved three match point against Mathieu and made a comeback after being a set and a break down to Ymer. Those kind of wins boost players' confidence. Istomin is predictable - his serving is efficient but return not so good. He's far from his top level. Krajicek went over this margin in 9 out of the last 10 matches. The only match that didn't go over was the one against Giraldo and even that one had the first set tie-break. Since he's a tricky player because he's left-handed and has deep drop shots, I expect Istomin to have a tough time again. Details

Berrer allowed the opponent a single break point yesterday and went on to lose a set because of it. He converted only 3 out of his 12 break points and is now to face a players who serves much better than Ito. De Schepper came only one game short of the possible 39 games and we saw only one break in the whole match. When he does that, his next match is a no-brainer - an over is always a good option. Especially because Berrer doesn't lose his service games easily and also doesn't record easy wins. Details

Lacko is 3-8 this season. He beat El Mihdawy, Urbania and needed 5 sets for Gonzales at AO: That means, he did nothing worth mentioning. He went on to record 4 defeats after Melbourne and then lost to an American who is not in Top 300 last week. Lacko said he's to become a dad soon, which explains the crisis. Kudla is forcing ATP qualifications, which is why he's not Top 100 player even though he deserve to be one. I saw his match against Muller last week. He was limited to 4 games as he lost motivation after missing out on some good chances. Losing a set and getting a break down to a great server means things are pretty much settled. Kudla might not have brilliant results either, but he beat Lacko a month ago, having converted 3 out of his 4 break points, while saying most of Lacko's break points. It seems the Slovak is not completely focused on tennis and Kudla will take advantage of it. He's not a hard-hitter like most Americans but he's smart and will see this opportunity. Details

Isner said it himself. If he could choose any court on the tour for the match against Djokovic, it would be Indian Wells. Here the conditions are perfect. He mentally reached the bottom in Davis Cup, and then he beat Malzer and Anderson who are uncomfortable for him. He didn't even offer them a single break.point, and now he's full of confidence. He played twice against Djokovic here. Once he won, the other time he lost, but both matches went into the third set. The high ball bounce and the slower conditions pull out the best from Isner. As for Djokovic, I would play this same bet even if he kicked Ramos. He struggled with him, made a lot of errors, but that doesn't mean a lot for this bet. It's very hard to return on Indian Wells to tall servers. Djokovic felt that ore than once, and this year he was beaten by Karlovic. The last three meetings went into the third set, and Isner managed to take two sets into overtime in Davis Cup. It all points to more games. Details

I respect Kokkinakis, a lot, but he can't always win with his eagerness. Rosol had 2-0 in sets and a match-serve in Davis Cup. He turned it around. Here, he won in two thriller endings, and he played two matches in five sets in Australian Open. He likes drama, but so far, he doesn't have width in his game to support that. It was enough for Monaco who just kept the ball in. He had to defeat him a few times before the final win. Tomic has been consistent and mature this season. With that, he can easily get to Top 20, and better. There's not one of his defeats this season that I can hold against him. Young is tricky because he's resistent to Tomic's mixes, and all the others were top players. Kokkinakis can't serve like Muller, for example. To be honest, I didn't think Tomic can defeat Ferrer. He was brilliant in the end, and played cleverly and with measure. He defeated the Spaniard mentally, and not many can do that. I remember their match from the beginning of the year. Kokkinakis was rising, and very self-confident. He didn't even get a break-ball. He couldn't deal with Tomic, and that broke him in the second set. The more experienced Australian defeated Ferrer and Ćorić in straight sets here, and those two are big fighters. Now he'll face a third, but that's the biggest strength Kokkinakis has. On the other hand, Tomic won the last ten sets, and counting the Davis Cup, he was very professional on the court. When he's like that, and focused, he's simply a better player. With more options, and mine impression is that he knows exactly what he has to do against the 18-year-old. Details

Lopez doesn't like the conditions in Indian Wells but his service can be very efficient here. The rallies are more difficult since his shots don't have the same effect on this surface. Cuevas is not a player for this surface, but what ever is not agreeing with the Spaniard, is agreeing with him. They both made comebacks in the last matches to confirm they never give up. Not counting Grand Slam and Davis Cup matches, Cuevas went over 22 games in 12 matches (one ended in retiring). I expect a great fight and no favorite here. They could go over the margin in straight sets because they can both be dominant in their service games but I wouldn't be surprised if this ends in three sets. There's a lot of reason to believe in that. Details

Muller is one of the best servers on the tour, especially if you look at those who don't hit high and over 220lm/h. Even though he's enjoying the best days of his career, and could be a seed on the next Grand Slam, he's predictable in two segments. His return isn't that good, and he can keep his serve. He played 22 long sets this season. It doesn't matter who's on the other side of the net. He managed to get to a tie-break against a player from Madagascar who isn't even in top 1500 in the Davis Cup this weekend. Sock came back after some time, but he's got one mach played, and he knows how to use these conditions. He won 88% first serve points against Lu, so I don't expect Muller to get his chance with return that often. That's why over on games is the best option. Details

Isner got four defeats in a row, and the one against Ward was especially painful because that's what got USA eliminated from the Davis Cup. Even though he's not feeling confident now, Indian Wells suits his game perfectly. The balls bounce very high, and he's using it in a great way. That's why he got finals and semifinals in the last years here. He even defeated Đoković once, despite Novak being the best returner on the tour. Melzer's got the game for Isner. He's a successful doubles player who knows how to play against great servers. He won three out of four matches against the tall American. Even though he'll hardly get points on the return here, he could dominate the serve. He knows how to position himself to do the job. Another advantage he has is that he played three matches already. Even though the margin is high, it can pass in straight sets. Details

Cilic said he's never gone this long without playing. Even when he was suspended, he was able to practice. The shoulder has kept him off the court since London. That's a very long period of time, most of which he spent in physical therapy. Monaco is a trick opponent since he doesn't make many mistakes and he's at his top level now. He's been doing good this season, with the Buenos Aires final providing him with a lot of confidence. Even though he struggled in the first round, his confidence got his through. He managed to make a comeback after the Russian covered a break point in the third set. A few months ago, Monaco would have lost such a match. Cilic has had a long break, got back to playing only recently and Monaco is the kind of a player who can take advantage of that since he knows how to punish opponents' mistakes. Marin said he needs a few matches to find rhythm again, which he will do, of course, but not before Miami. Details

I like Petzschner and watch his matches each chance I get but sadly, he is just a shadow of his former self now. Injuries that have destroyed him are unfortunately not something he left in the past. He failed to tie wins this season. He came here after the European indoors tournaments, struggled with Delic, stayed closet to Dustov but lost focus and power in the third set. His style is about the net game, frequent backhand drop shots and low shots. That does not really work in Indian Wells, one of the slowest hard court surfaces where the balls bounce high. Clay specialists are always doing well here and I believe Cecchinato will do well too. He made it through to Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires main draw and lost to Bagnis and Nieminin closely. I think he is much better then Petzschner who decided to use protected ranking to try and make it into main draw. Given his indoors performances where his game works much better since it requires less energy, I don't think hell do well here. I'm afraid this is his final season, while his opponent is set to race for the Top 100. That's a success for a 22-year-old. I expected the Italian to be favorite to some extent and these odds are, therefore, a pleasant surprise. Details

Kavicic is one of those players who always put the national team first. He played with an injury the last time to fight and in the end lose to Weintraub, who knows how to play well on clay. Kavcic had to undergo another foot injury after Zagreb (the first one was after US Open). He said that he probably won't play Davis Cup. Two weeks ago, Kavcic was working on his forehand shots while sitting in a chair. His rehab period has just ended but there he is in Slovakia. Gombos is on a roll. He beat Thiem in Davis Cup last season even though Thiem was the heavy favorite. He won his first challenger last week in similar conditions in France after beating the favorite Paire. His tennis is aggressive and I don't think Kavcic has the energy for the whole match. He definitely doesn't have rhythm. Besides, Klizan will get them the first point and that will only alleviate the pressure for Gombos. Details

A classic situation when Isner has no rhythm. He won just one on his home tour, and scored two defeats without break. The American said he often trained with Ward in Florida, and the Brit also beat him in the Kooyong exhibition match at the start of the season, so he has little to far from him, but is also aware how important it is to hold the serve. I expect caution on both sides, the stakes are high and Isner plays predictably when out of rhythm. He will focus on his serve and avoid aggression on the return. Everything points to a tie-break, which also entails all kinds of overs on games in the first set. The bet is under the „1st Set Correct Score“ option and pertains to a 7-6 outcome of the first set, regardless of who wins it. Details

Berankis is a talented player who doesn't always plays the smartest game because he often lacks discipline. But the Davis Cup matches are a whole different thing. He is focused because he's not playing for himself only and it shows in the results. When it comes to his Davis Cup matches indoors, he has the impressive 13-1. He likes playing good servers who go on the net and his return then turns into a powerful weapon. Kubot has always enjoyed playing for the national team, but his motivation is the only thing that is not questionable. He played only one match after Australian Open, where he struggled with an injury in the qualification. He played in Wroclaw in Poland to injure his right elbow and lose to Arnaboldi, who opened the season badly. The Polish player will decided whether to focus on doubles matches only after Wimbledon but his greatest problem are injuries. He has not completely recovered from the foot injury, as he said a few months ago and that's always a threat. He is not to play a best-of-5 match and has no rhythm. The conditions are fast and he thinks that good. Bernakis was driving Muller crazy on return in Zagreb, says he won't have struggles with the fans cheering because the same happened in Sarajevo where the packed arena cheered for his opponent. I think the Lithuanian will make his impressive Davis Cup indoors matches record even better. Details

Klizan did the South American tour badly and didn't want to join the team for the Davis Cup but rather focus on his carrier, on the tournaments to come. He never really got along with Mecir, but Hrbaty talked him into it. His conscience kicked in and I think he's 100% focused on Davis Cup now, which is not what I can say about Zemlja. He is still dealing with the consequences of mono and the Slovenian media claim he will never get back to being his old self again. He did well for six games and then lost power in Zagreb. He was helpless against Bedene, the player he used to always beat convincingly, even though Bedene did nothing special. Zemlja's last two tournaments were futures in Iran. He reached final at one and won the title at the other, both time acing the same opponents in the final (Marie). He said he was tired but that it's good only one of this matches ended in three sets. Klizan will decide this match. If he plays with enough focus and I believe that he will because he's not playing for himself and because he will want to use as little energy as possible, I think handicap will work without any difficulty. On the other hand, Zemlja will have less power as the match advances. The fact he was wining at minor futures tournaments doesn't mean much since he has no power for tennis at a higher level. It may change in the future but not now. I think the Slovak team will have everything settled by Saturday, enabling Klizan to start thinking about Indian Welles and his carrier. Details