Taro Daniel will be trying to make some noise and perform well in the Rio Olympics. In the first round he will take on Jack Sock, the winner of Wimbledon doubles in 2014 with Vasek Pospisil, who oesn't want to disappoint his country and will also be fighting for a good result. Both players have never played each other in any tournament before.
2016 results
This is not good year for Taro Daniel. The Janapese has often lost in first rounds, and at the beginning of the season he lost three matches in a row. The first good tournament for him was the Open Sud de France, but Marcos Baghdatis beat him in the second round in straight sets. After six losses in a row he reached second rounds in Monte Carlo, Bucharest and Estoril and he reached the best ranking in his career at 85th.
The most successful Grand Slam in his career so far is Roland Garros, where he noted his best result. This year in the first round he faced Martin Klizan, but the Slovak retired in the fifth set. The next opponent was Stan Wawrinka, who didn't give a chance to the young Japanese, beating him in three sets. A Challenger, the Sparkassen Open in Braunschweig, was very good for Daniel. He booked a place in the quarterfinal, where Teymuraz Gabashvili defeated him in straight sets.
Jack Sock's year is much better than Taro's. In his first event this year in Auckland he reacehd the final, but he retired in the second set against Roberto Bautista Agut. However, his performance in the first Grand Slam this year, the Australian Open, wasn't good. In the second round Lukas Rosol defeated him in three sets. At Indian Wells and the Miami Open, Sock reached the third round in both tournaments.
In Houston Jack booked another final, but Juan Monaco beat him after a dramatic match. At Roland Garros the revelation of this tournament Albert Ramos-Vinolas defeated Sock in five hard sets. Wimbledon wasn't better, as the eventual finalist Milos Raonic beat him.
Who wins?
Taro Daniel and Jack Sock are really similar. Both players are the same age at 23 years old and the same height- 6'3''. Even their style of play are the same, because they use a right-handed, two-handed backhand. Jack Sock considers the forehand to be his best shot, but he also has a top-level serve. The American plays doubles, so his strong side is playing at the net. Taro Daniel's favourite and best shot is the backhand.
Daniel and Sock will be trying to show their best. As i mentioned earlier, this is their first match at the Olympics so they would both like to show their best tennis.
Daniel Taro maybe isn't in remarkable form, but he is always dangerous. However, he didn't prepare on the hard courts like Jack Sock. The American performed at the Citi Open and Rogers Cup, where he booked quarterfinal spots in both tournaments.
This is the second match scheduled on Court 2 on Saturday. The winner of this match will take on Jordan Thompson or Kyle Edmund in the next round.
Prediction: Sock in straight sets.