Nick Kyrgios, the controversial and headline-grabbing Aussie, will take on familiar foe Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday in a rematch of their recent Halle clash. The winner of this third-round showdown advances to the second week of Wimbledon.
(4) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Nick Kyrgios
Stefanos Tsitsipas is the No. 5 player in the world, with impressively consistent results throughout the 2022 season and with a grass-court title in his pocket (Mallorca just a week ago). Under most circumstances, this would make Tsitsipas a prohibitive favorite in any third-round match–particularly against a player ranked 40th. Not so against Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon, however.
First, Kyrgios on grass is one of the most dangerous floaters in all of men’s tennis. He’s a threat on the lawn even when he’s playing poorly, owing to his monster serve and deadly groundstrokes. And right now? He is definitely not playing poorly. The Aussie had three semifinal results in row in 2022 starting with the clay event in Houston, then two more on the grass courts of Stuttgart and Halle.
Second, Kyrgios has already sent Tsitispas packing this season–just a few weeks ago in Halle–so he won’t head into Saturday’s match lacking in confidence. The world No. 40 withdrew from the tournament in Mallorca last week with an abdominal injury, but he seemed in good health in his first two matches at the All-England Club.
Lastly, Tsitsipas has historically been vulnerable on grass. The Greek has played four previous Wimbledon Championships, resulting in three first-round exits (including last year) and a single fourth-round showing in 2018. The prospect of facing Tsitsipas isn’t going to make Kyrgios nervous.
With Kyrgios, there is always the possibility of an on-court meltdown in which he does “battle” with the chair umpire, his opponent, or even fans. His first-round match against Britain’s Paul Jubb this week was a five-set marathon that featured Kyrgios spitting on the ground in the direction of what he called a disrespectful fan. And such meltdowns occasionally end with Kyrgios going away mentally or even sabotaging himself by losing on purpose.
Still, even with Kyrgios’s unpredictability, it is hard to pick against him in the form he’s in.
Cheryl pick: Kyrgios in 5
Ricky pick: Kyrgios in 4
Pass the popcorn!!…..Tpas in 4.
Tsitsipas in five is my take. I think if Kyrios is to win the match, he has to do it in four sets at most, when it goes five sets I think Tsitsipas will outlast him.
Kygios has a positive H2H Vs Tsitsipas no doubt but Tsitsipas at this Wimbledon seems confident, focused and determined, may be a contender for the title if the draw opens out nicely for him. He looks fresh and fit too.
Kyrios on grass may be hard to beat but his level can be so up and down during a match, especially when the going gets tough and he can get rather irritated or agitated and then begins to lose the plot.
I’m with Cheryl’s pick: Tsitsipas in 5 sets.
In picking this bracket, which seems ages ago, I picked Kyrgios over Tsitsipas. I had my reasons but I don’t remember now. I had Berritini beating NK.
Van Rijthoven is being interviewed on Tennis Channel. It’s the first time I have seen this guy up close and heard him speak. I have been looking for a new reason to pay closer attention to the ATP and there he is; Tim Van Rijthoven.
He is NoVax’s next opponent and I must go get popcorn for the weekend!
Oops, I need an edit to my above post.
Cheryl has Nick in 5. It is Luckystar’s pick that I agree with, Tststpas in 5.
I don’t know who will win and in how many sets between these two. They both frustrate me.
Yes, I agree with the sentiment that they are frustrating (albeit for different reasons). I was sitting court side for a match between Nick and Khachanov. I quite literally watched him throw the match because he got mad at Fergus Murphy. I was quite disgusted
😂 Congratulations, Cheryl, you called right!
That was ninety-nine % frustration the entire match. Yet, something about the feeling of frustration I enjoyed.
It was entertaining and scary.
And, that was my bracket pick, and I hope to see Kygrios!
I hope Krygrios continues on the road to good behavior.
What did he say
Not the first time with Fergus who should never put up with it.
One of Nicks excuses is that he ‘s a quick server so why does he get warnings and others including Rafa dont. Not the point though.
I picked Nick in my bracket on the H2H no other reason
Are you Big Al too, Al? Or…?
Someone in our tennis bracket challenge picked Nick to Win Wimbledon!
So-o-o ambivalent about Nick. Can’t not watch him, but can’t deal with his behaving like a spoiled 9-year-old. Note: seems his Mom is not present at his matches anymore. I feel for her.
You never know with NK what is going to happen. But he is a better grass court player than Tsitsi so he absolutely definitely can win. I haven’t watched Tsitsi recently so I presume he has got over the major funk he was in during RG.
NK’s capacity to sabotage himself is immense so one never knows..
Meanwhile Kyrios came out to play! He looks very dangerous right now until……..
Kvitova is out! Happy for Bardosa!!! Vamos!! 😃
Y is it that once Rafa is playing this site just freezes as well as the streaming sites? Sigh!! 🙄🙄🙄