Nick Kyrgios will be trying to remain undefeated in Atlanta when he takes the court for quarterfinal action against Cameron Norrie on Friday night. Matthew Ebden and Marcos Baghdatis are also aiming for a place in the semis.
Cameron Norrie vs. (2) Nick Kyrgios
The 2016 BB&T Atlanta Open champion, Kyrgios missed the event last year because of injury but returned to his winning ways with a 7-5, 6-2 defeat of Noah Rubin on Thursday night. Thus continued a solid comeback from more physical problems for the 18th-ranked Australian, who missed most of the clay-court swing before performing relatively well on grass. He reached semifinals in Halle and at Queen’s Club to go along with a third-round performance at Wimbledon.
Up next for the No. 2 seed Norrie, with whom Kyrgios grew up in juniors–but they have unsurprisingly never faced each other on the main tour. Norrie is just now starting to make a name for himself on the pro circuit after playing collegiately at TCU until last spring. The 22-year-old Brit is up to a career-high ranking of No. 73 in the world thanks in part to a semifinal showing on the red clay of Lyon and a grass-court quarterfinal appearance in Eastbourne. Norrie owns 10 ATP-level match victories during this 2018 campaign following Atlanta wins over Malek Jaziri and Jeremy Chardy. The left-hander will be tricky, but Kyrgios once again seems at least somewhat motivated in Atlanta and should have too much firepower.
Pick: Kyrgios in 2
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Marcos Baghdatis vs. (4) Matthew Ebden
Ebden and Baghdatis will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers on Friday. Their only previous encounter came six years ago on the hard courts of Sydney, where Baghdatis prevailed 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(3). The Cypriot has been slowing done some in his 30s (currently 33) while dealing with various injuries that are part of the reason why he registers at 95th in the rankings. He is through to his first quarterfinal since Sofia in February thanks to straight-set victories in Atlanta over Alex Bolt and Frances Tiafoe.
Enjoying his first season in his 30s, Ebden recently peaked at No. 43 in the world–which earned him the fourth seed this week and an opening-round bye. He is currently 55th, as his points from last year’s Newport runner-up performance just came off the board. The Australian produced consistently stellar results on grass and maintained momentum by beating Donald Young 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday. Whereas Ebden would prefer to be back on grass, Baghdatis thrives in these hot, hard-court conditions and was a finalist in Atlanta in 2015.
Pick: Baghdatis in 3
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who ya got?
kyrgios in 2 ebden in 2
ebden up a set
Make that two.