Kuznetsov set to pile more misery on veteran Karlovic

Sky Sports 3, 3pm Saturday

Two players struggling for consistency meet in the second round of the ATP Miami Open and it could be worth chancing Russian Andrey Kuznetsov to get the better of an out-of-sorts Ivo Karlovic.

Big-serving Karlovic - 47 places higher in the world rankings - has lost his opening match in his last four events and, at 38, looks a mere shadow of the player he once was.

Results should improve for the veteran but it’s difficult to tell when and straight-set defeats against Donald Young at Delray Beach and Japanese number two Yoshihito Nishioka at Indian Wells highlight the concern surrounding his form.

Kuznetsov, similarly failing to match last season’s heroics, ended a barren run of seven straight defeats by dismissing Denis Istomin in his curtain-raiser and that triumph may give him the necessary boost to progress further in the event.

The Russian reached the fourth round last year - beating world number three Stan Wawrinka and Adrian Mannarino on the way - and if he can rediscover that form then 23-20 represents a fair bet.

Karlovic is the classier operator and when on his game his powerful serve can trouble any player on the tour, but defeats are mounting and his confidence looks severely damaged.

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A Kuznetsov
2pts 23-20 betfair