Miami Open: Feliciano Lopez vs. Alexei Popyrin 3/24/21 Tennis Prediction

Veteran Feliciano Lopez of Spain will face young Australian star Alexei Popyrin in the First Round of the 2021 Miami Open. The match is scheduled to be played on Wednesday March 24th, 2021 at 11:00am EST. 

This will be a very exciting match between the former world number 12 player Feliciano Lopez and the Aussie star. Both players play a very exciting brand of tennis and regardless of the outcome, it will be sure to be a very entertaining match, with lots of breathtaking shot making. Who will win and advance to the Second Round here at the 2021 Miami Open?

Feliciano Lopez is 40 years old, and is still playing some solid tennis on the ATP Tour. Having obviously slowed down a bit in his movement, his serve is still an elite weapon, able to trouble even the best players in the world. He has seen his rankings slowly decline over the past few years, now finding it at #64. He has been in inconsistent form so far this year. mixing good results with bad and finding it difficult to string wins together. He won’t go deep into the tournament, but certainly is capable of a big win or two, as evidenced by his five set thriller win over Lorenzo Sonego at the Australian Open. If he serves well, he is more than capable of winning here and his experience will be a huge asset against the young and temperamental Popyrin. 

Alexei Popyrin has long be touted as a future star, but is finally beginning to live up to his vast potential. After disappointing to start the year, he shocked the tennis world by winning his first ATP Title in Singapore, with a big win over Alexander Bublik in the final. He has a huge game and powerful groundstrokes, and obviously will have the edge over his opponent in fitness and movment. While he enters this match as the favorite, it will not be smooth sailing as Lopez has bags of experience and will be a stern test. If Popyrin is fully focused and returns well he should win this, but it really could go either way. 

I think that this will be an extremely tight match, with three sets a very likely outcome. It is a classic match of youth vs experience, and can go either way. With all things considered, I am going with Alexei Popyrin to win this match. I think he will eventually wear the veteran Lopez down, and a three set victory looks likely here.