Australia will have to win both singles rubbers on Sunday in order to overcome Germany and get the job done at home in round one of the 2018 Davis Cup competition. A Nick Kyrgios victory against Alexander Zverev would set the stage for a decisive fifth rubber between Alex de Minaur and Jan-Lennard Struff.
(GER) Alexander Zverev vs. (AUS) Nick Kyrgios
Zverev and Kyrgios will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers when they clash in the fourth rubber of the the Davis Cup first-round tie between Germany and Australia on Sunday afternoon in Brisbane. Kyrgios is leading the head-to-head series 3-1, with all four of their previous encounters having come last season on hard courts. The Aussie prevailed in back-to-back tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami, Zverev avenged those defeats at another Masters 1000 event in Montreal, and Kyrgios most recently got the job done 6-3, 7-5 in the Beijing semifinals.
Both players are coming off victorious performances on Friday. Zverev opened the tie in dramatic fashion, battling back from 3-0 down in the fifth set to beat Alex de Minaur 7-5, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4). It had to have been a confidence-boosting win for the world No. 5, who has struggled in best-of-five situations at Grand Slams throughout his career and was coming off a five-set loss to Hyeon Chung in round three of the Australian Open. Kyrgios’ confidence has never been an issue at any point so far in 2018. He captured the Brisbane title, advanced three rounds in Melbourne before losing one of the best matches of an otherwise lackluster tournament to Grigor Dimitrov, and cruised past Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in Friday’s second rubber. Based on current form and home-court advantage, the world No. 14 should once again take care of business against Zverev.
Pick: Kyrgios in 4
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(GER) Jan-Lennard Struff vs. (AUS) Alex de Minaur
Despite getting a bad draw at the Australian Open and losing in the first round to eventual quarterfinalist Tomas Berdych, de Minaur has been one of the talks of the tour in 2018. Previously with just two career ATP-level match victories, the 18-year-old Aussie advanced to the Brisbane semifinals as a wild card before finishing runner-up in Sydney. He thrilled the home fans yet again on Friday, albeit in a losing effort against Zverev.
If the fifth rubber happens, de Minaur and Struff will be facing each other for the first time in their careers. Speaking of bad draws, Struff had to go up against eventual champion Roger Federer in the Australian Open second round and lost by a respectable 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(4) margin. The 58th-ranked German is 2-4 in singles this season (with an upset of Berdych in Doha) and he made a run to the Aussie Open doubles semifinals with partner Ben McLachlan. Struff has been busy in both departments this weekend, as his loss to Kyrgios was followed by a huge five-set doubles win with Tim Puetz over John Peers and Matthew Ebden on Saturday. A more rested and in-form de Minaur looks like he will be able to handle the pressure of this occasion and send Australia through to the quarterfinals.
Pick: de Minaur in 4
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