Men’s action at the 2025 Miami Open will begin with its first round matches on Wednesday, March 19 as the likes of Nick Kyrgios, Alexander Bublik and Billy Harris take to court for their opener. Get the best predictions and tips for the day from ATP Miami Open 2025.
Mackenzie McDonald vs Nick Kyrgios
In what will be their third meeting – with the previous two results shared between these two – both Mackenzie McDonald and Nick Kyrgios have something to prove.
The 101st-ranked McDonald has struggled through most part of the previous few months which has propelled his ranking down and he was forced to feature in the qualifiers to even get through to the main draw here.
What will be a cause for some relief for McDonald is that he has had a few results go his way this season, a runner-up at the San Diego Challenger and second round appearances at Delray Beach and Indian Wells.
However, he goes up against a player of the calibre of Nick Kyrgios, a former Wimbledon finalist. Kyrgios’ issues have been related to his fitness and as a result the last time he won a match at this level was in 2022. Since then he has barely played any tennis.
Earlier this year, Kyrgios put up a brave fight before losing his openers at the Brisbane International and Australian Open and then was forced to retire from his Indian Wells Open first round encounter because of his lingering fitness concerns.
That’s what his issue will be coming into this one – to be able to complete the match but we think that if he does get through till the end, Kyrgios might just be able to grab a win here.
McDonald v Kyrgios Tip: Kyrgios to win in three sets: 3/1
Alexander Bublik vs Sebastian Baez
This is an interesting one. A first meeting between Alexander Bublik and Sebastian Baez who are ranked 80th and 36th in the world respectively.
And yet it’s Bublik who enters the match as an 11/20 favourite.
Bublik’s form has been a cause for concern and by the end of the Indian Wells Masters earlier this month, he had featured in eight tournaments this year and won just two matches.
So why does he then start off a favourite against a player ranked 36th in the world.
For starters, Bublik himself looks to have turned things around with his performance on the Challenger circuit where he made the final of the competition in Phoenix. It was no ordinary Challenger tournament what with Bublik defeating the likes of Aleksandar Vukic, Rinky Hijikata and Nuno Borges on his way to the final.
The other factor in his favour is his opponent Baez is 12-3 for the season on clay but in the three tournaments he has played in hardcourt competitions, Baez hasn’t won a match.
Over his career, Baez has feature in three editions of this tournament and never won a round either.
Bublik v Baez Tip: Bublik to win in straight sets: 7/5
Eliot Spizzirri vs Billy Harris
This is a match between two players ranked outside the top 100 – USA’s Eliot Spizzirri who had a wildcard to make the main draw and British player Billy Harris who defeated Mikael Ymer and Hugo Gaston in his qualifiers to set up this meeting.
What’s interesting to see is that both players are currently at, or close to, their career-best ranking. Spizzirri has never been 134th before as he enters this tournament while Harris was once 101st and is currently six spots behind.
And as far as their records for the season are concerned, there’s not much to separate the two either – a 13-7 for Spizzirri to go with 17-13 for Harris.
Where Harris might hold an edge is his better experience and that’s where we could see him edge out his opponent if this goes into a third set.
Spizzirri v Harris Tip: Harris to win in three sets: 3/1
