Nick Kyrgios will kick off his Valencia campaign on Tuesday against a back-from-the-dead Daniel Brands. First-round action also features fellow Spaniards Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Fernando Verdasco.
Nick Kyrgios vs. (Q) Daniel Brands
Kyrgios and Brands will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they meet in round one of the Valencia Open on Tuesday. That should come as no surprise, because Brands has been mostly absent from the ATP Tour ever since Kyrgios broke onto the scene in 2014. The injury-plagued German has not played an ATP-level, main-draw match in more than a year (Vienna 2014) and he does have an ATP tournament win since the first week of last season (Doha). But Brands, ranked 170th in the world, has given himself a chance in Valencia by qualifying with victories over Bernabe Zapata Miralles, Thanasi Kokkinakis, and Albert Montanes.
At 30th in the rankings, Kyrgios can lock up a seed for the 2016 Australian Open with a decent finish in Valencia and Paris. The volatile Aussie has gotten things together after a brutal summer both on and off the court, reaching the semifinals in Kuala Lumpur and the quarters in Tokyo. He also played well in Shanghai but had to face Kei Nishikori in the second round and lost 6-4 in the third set. This is considerable step up in competition for Brands, whose serve will keep him competitive before a lack of big-match play proves to be his undoing.
Pick: Kyrgios in 2
[polldaddy poll=9147062]
[polldaddy poll=9147052]
(6) Guillermo Garcia-Lopez vs. Fernando Verdasco
It will be an all-Spanish affair when Garcia-Lopez and Verdasco collide for the eighth time in their careers and for the third time this season on Tuesday. Verdasco is dominating the head-to-head series 6-1 and has won five in a row at Garcia-Lopez’s expense. The former world No. 7 got the job done 7-5, 6-1 in Dubai and 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on the clay courts of Madrid.
The fall swing began in fine fashion for Garcia-Lopez, but he has been borderline hopeless since finishing runner-up to Tomas Berdych in Shenzhen. The sixth seed is 1-4 in his last five matches and was the recipient of a double-breadstick against David Ferrer last week in Vienna. Verdasco is an even 24-24 for the 2015 campaign after falling to Stockholm runner-up Jack Sock 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-4 during second-round action. The world No. 45 is playing well enough to take advantage of a relatively out-of-form opponent whom he has owned in the past.
Pick: Verdasco in 3
[polldaddy poll=9147060]
Wait but u had GGL in three I thought. Oh and Verdasco in three and kyrgios in straights.
Never mind I saw u changed it on daily picks
yep, did some extra research!
full tournament picks: https://tenngrand.com/social/fantasy-tennis/
Hey Ricky!! I said before “how is verdasco cold” and “I think verdasco will win”. U replied “no he won’t” “u must have pretty low standards for verdasco”. Now I see this bahahahaa. What a jk bro
Verdasco is 46th in the world. He used to be 7th. His recent results are terrible for a player of his caliber. This isnt hard to figure out.
It’s true he has so much wasted talent.
Let me ask u this Ricky. Kohlscrieber vs janowicz??? Actually why am I asking u this lol
Kohlschreiber
let’s go you controversial brat…I hope you play tennis this time not the bugs your head… 🙂
With respect to the poll question, if Kyrgios incurs a fine, it will not be enough to cause his suspension to kick in.
You can take that one to the (ATP) bank.
#ByDesign
Yes, I agree that even if Kyrgios incurs a fine, it’s not going to be enough for his suspension to kick in. I have to believe that he is aware of this and won’t do anything to let that happen.
Yep
Kyrgios is a mug and will disgracefully throw this match
he will win
He didn’t win.
what did Rafa say at the end of his press conference
Ricky (at 5:47 pm),
See Musy Isabelle’s tweet I posted in “Basel and Valencia previews and predictions” on October 26, 2015 at 10:00 pm.
Kyrgios lost 46 62 67
#nadalitis
i told you he is a mug. He was laughing while he made some stupid shots too. and in tie breaker he looked like he didnt care and didnt even try.
standard procedure
Kyrgios and Rosol suffer from nadalitis which is a syndrome that makes you feel you’ve done it all after beating Nadal; that no matter whatever else you do, you can dine on that for ever.