Nick Kyrgios will be back in action 24 hours after upsetting Roger Federer when he takes the Madrid court to face John Isner on Thursday. David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco are also in third-round action.
Nick Kyrgios vs. (16) John Isner
Isner and Kyrgios will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they battle for a spot in the quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday. Kyrgios is flying high after saving two match points en route to a 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 7-6(12) stunner over Roger Federer in the second round. The 20-year-old Aussie preceded that show with a much more routine 6-2, 6-3 destruction of Daniel Gimeno-Traver. Kyrgios is 11-5 at the ATP level this season and up to No. 30 in the world. He has a chance of breaking into the top 30 after this week even if he falls in the third round.
Isner is heating up nicely after a rough start to the 2015 campaign. The 18th-ranked American reached the fourth round in Indian Wells and the semifinals in Miami, stopped only by Novak Djokovic at each venue. His European clay-court swing began with a third-round performance in Monte-Carlo, where Rafael Nadal took him out. So far in Madrid, Isner has defeated Adrian Mannarino and Thomaz Bellucci. This will be a quick turnaround for Kyrgios, who may come back down to Earth playing on the second show court against an opponent not named Roger Federer. After all, the bigger the stage, the bigger Kyrgios plays.
Pick: Isner in 3
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(7) David Ferrer vs. Fernando Verdasco
Ferrer and Verdasco will be squaring off for the 20th time in their carers and for the second time this season when the two Spaniards go at it again on Thursday. A 6-3, 6-2 beatdown in Ferrer’s favor on the hard courts of Doha helped him improve to 12-7 lifetime in the head-to-head series. They have split their 12 clay-court clashes at six wins apiece, although Ferrer has won four in a row. The 33-year-old is 3-0 against Verdasco in Rome dating back to 2010, but the two veterans have never faced each other in Madrid.
It has already been a productive, hard-fought week for Verdasco. The world No. 38 edged countryman Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in his opener before beating Marin Cilic 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-3 on Wednesday. Ferrer followed up a first-round bye with a 6-4, 6-0 scalp of fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. The seventh seed is an awesome 28-5 on the season and he should showcase too much consistency and defense for Verdasco on a clay-court surface.
Pick: Ferrer in 2
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Noice call on Isner Rick-Dee.