Nick Kyrgios is back on the grass courts of Stuttgart, as he plays his first match of 2023 on Tuesday afternoon. Canada’s Denis Shapovalov will also be in first-round action against Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics.
(8) Nick Kyrgios vs. Yibing Wu
Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios has been sidelined from tennis for the first half of the 2023 season. He sustained a knee injury that kept him from his home Slam at the Australian Open, then cut his foot during a car theft, which knocked him out of the French Open. He is back now, though, just in time for his favorite season: grass.
Ordinarily a lengthy layoff would make it difficult for a player to jump right back into a tournament and expect any kind of success. Kyrgios is not ordinary in any way. The world No. 25 has never relied on match play to work himself into form. He has a massive first serve and a huge forehand, both of which seem effortless or even a bit lackadaisical at times. And it means that Kyrgios can pop up in a tournament with no preparation and hit his opponents off the court.
Yibing Wu has had a slightly disappointing spring since he won his first career title in Dallas. He won a pair of matches in Geneva but crashed out of the French Open in the opening round. It’s bad luck for the Chinese player to run into Kyrgios so early. Expect the Aussie to come out firing.
Cheryl pick: Kyrgios in 2
Ricky pick: Kyrgios in 2
Denis Shapovalov vs. Marton Fucsovics
Denis Shapovalov has had a horrific 2023 so far. The former world No. 10 comes into Stuttgart with a losing 9-10 record for the season, which includes a pair of wins he added at Roland Garros last fortnight. Shapovalov had an impressive 2021 season on grass was a semifinalist at Queen’s and Wimbledon, but he has otherwise been surprisingly unsuccessful on grass.
Marton Fucsovics had a solid result at Indian Wells this year, where he made the round of 16, but like his opponent he comes into Stuttgart with a losing record in 2023 (11-12). The Hungarian similarly has a single good result at the All-England Club, where he made the quarters in 2021. Fucsovics had a good showing in Stuttgart last year, when he also made the quarterfinals.
Fucsovics might just have the edge in this one, based mostly on the Canadian’s shaky form.
Cheryl pick: Fucsovics in 2
Ricky pick: Fucsovics in 3
WWW?
Nick in 2….Fvitz in 3.