A blockbuster second-round battle between Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios is on the schedule for Wednesday in Acapulco. Fellow Americans and occasional doubles partners John Isner and Sam Querrey are also bidding for a quarterfinal spot.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. Nick Kyrgios
After Kyrgios beat Andreas Seppi 6-3, 7-5 in a strangely motivated performance at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel on Tuesday, he admitted that he was inspired by seeing Nadal next up in his draw. So perhaps it wasn’t strange after all. Kyrgios, who loves the big stage but has been plagued by both physical and mental problems especially at the less prestigious events over the past year, will get a shot at Nadal for the sixth time in his career on Tuesday night. The head-to-head series stands at 3-2 in favor of the Spaniard, who has won three of their past four encounters since getting upset at Wimbledon in 2014.
Kyrgios has not fully lived up to his potential in four-plus years since his unofficial arrival at the All-England Club, and he is currently struggling all the way down at No. 72 in the rankings. His win over Seppi improved the 23-year-old Aussie to just 3-3 for his 2019 campaign. Nadal took the court for the first time since finishing runner-up at the Australian Open and made quick 6-3, 6-3 work of Mischa Zverev. The world No. 2 still appears to be in fine form, while Kyrgios started showing signs of the bad Kyrgios–including a minor physical issue that he admitted to afterward–late in his match against Seppi.
Pick: Nadal in 2
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(3) John Isner vs. Sam Querrey
Isner and Querrey will be squaring off for the eighth time in their careers on Wednesday. Somewhat surprisingly, Querrey is a borderline dominant 5-2 in the head-to-head series–including 4-1 in their last five meetings. Unsurprisingly, every single matchup has featured at least one tiebreaker; their most recent showdown at the 2018 Cincinnati Masters ended in a third-set ‘breaker, with Querrey getting the job done 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(5).
This is probably not the time nor the place for Isner to turn the tide. The world No. 9 is a disappointing 5-5 this season and he had never won a match in Acapulco before holding off Adrian Mannarino in three sets on Tuesday. Querrey faced lucky loser Guillermo Garcia-Lopez instead of Taylor Fritz and trounced the veteran Spaniard 6-3, 6-2. The 31-year-old American is a decent 5-3 for his 2019 campaign and coming off a semifinal showing in New York. Querrey should be confident enough to win the crucial points in this one and extend his countryman’s recent woes.
Pick: Querrey in 3
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