ATP Tournament in Halle, Quarterfinals, Friday, 17.06.2022
Is he the crowd favourite at the ATP tournament in Halle – or not? Hardly anyone polarises on the tour as much as Nick Kyrgios. The Australian is once again living up to this role these days.
He may not appeal to everyone, but he is playing all the better for it.
In my Carreno Busta Kyrgios tip I reveal why a bet on the enfant terrible is also worthwhile in my eyes!
A bit of a show had to be put on again, of course, but if he plays as strongly as he currently does, you can hardly blame him. People have been arguing about Nick Kyrgios for years: Is he a genius or rather a madman?
Far too seldom does he live up to his gigantic potential. After only one tournament on the unpleasant clay, he obviously has a lot planned for the season on grass. In Stuttgart, he already reached the semi-finals, points deductions included, of course.
In Halle, too, he is setting out to be among the best. After his 6-3, 7-5 against Daniel Altmaier, a real challenge awaited him in the form of Stefanos Tsitsipas. But Kyrgios, the world number 65, didn’t care.
For the first time in one and a half years, he was able to defeat such a well-ranked player; he had also managed a win against Tsitsipas 18 months ago. Kyrgios lost set number one 5-7 but rallied afterwards.
6-2, 6-4, to win he served his own serve to nil. It wasn’t that Tsitsipas had a bad day, Kyrgios just played sensationally well. Fittingly, he ended the match with a cracking ace.
Above all, the 81% won balls on the second serve held on for the victory, that he only let Tsitsipas break once was also strong. And so it is that he is also seen ahead against Pablo Carreno Busta.
Betano, as much as I have already revealed, is counting on the extroverted Australian, and the win rate of xxx could be improved by the bonus. Although Carreno Busta is clearly ahead of Kyrgios in the world rankings, he is therefore considered an underdog.
Whether that has anything to do with the fact that he lost both duels against his upcoming opponent? Unlikely, as the two encounters were held back in 2015 as well as 2016, making it a long time ago.
Carreno Busta, the world number 19, has played a strong tournament so far. Not everyone expected him to do so, as his performances have been extremely erratic in recent months. In Halle, however, he succeeded in almost everything.
First he threw shooting star Holger Rune out of the tournament with a 6-3, 7-5, then the Spaniard won against Sebastian Korda. 6-4, 0-6, 6-3 – the result leaves a lot of room for speculation. What was going on in the second set?
Carreno Busta couldn’t match Kyrgios on serve, and he also broke Korda four times on seven occasions. There is no question that the 30-year-old will have to improve considerably on Friday if he wants to progress here.
My Carreno Busta Kyrgios Tip
Nick Kyrgios may divide the crowd, but he always entertains them, even in Halle.
Since he came from behind to play a sensational match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, he is my favourite. I trust Carreno Busta to keep up reasonably well, but in the end I’m betting on the following tip:
Kyrgios wins 2:0!
