ATP Masters in Montreal, Round of 16, Thursday, 11.08.2022
The tennis world is currently asking, and rightly so: WHERE has this Nick Kyrgios actually been in recent years and why is he only now playing like a major number 1? Finally he seems to be able to combine talent and discipline.
Some top stars have already failed at the Canadian Masters, now he is the big favourite for the title.
A compatriot should not stop him in the round of 16.
Nick Kyrgios is already a bit of an enigma. The experts have agreed for years that if he really wanted to, he could stay at the top of the world for a long time. The Australian had to turn 27 to experience the best time of his career so far.
Even before Wimbledon he mucked up, the final, which he lost to Novak Djokovic despite a good performance, did not diminish his achievement. Afterwards, he concentrated on doubles and won the title together with Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Arriving in Washington, he obviously thought: Let’s just get the trophies in doubles. Apart from the successful doubles, he was also successful on his own this time. He beat Marcos Giron, Tommy Paul, Reilly Opelka, Mikael Ymer and Yishihito Nishioka straight up, only Frances Tiafoe was a close call.
A flash in the pan, Kyrgios is by no means that. Since he has been in Montreal, he has shown day after day that he wants to stay on the ball. He started the tournament with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Sebastian Baez, only to deliver his masterpiece afterwards.
The first-set tiebreak against world No. 1 Daniil Medevdev was clearly gone, but then Kyrgios focused on the rest of the match. 6-4, 6-2, he deservedly cheered and served a strong total of 19 aces.
The Russian had two break chances, neither of which he took. Kyrgios serves brilliantly, when he serves, you can hardly stop him. He has never made it past the round of 16 at the Canada Masters, and now his chances are good.
With odds of 1.40 to 2.90, he is relatively close to the top with German bookmakers. Of course, the bookies know what Alex de Minaur can do.
The world number 21 has shown his best side in Montreal so far. 7-5, 7-6 against Denis Shapovalov and 7-6, 7-5 against Grigor Dimitrov – the spectators got a great show for their ticket money.
In the course of these two thrillers he might well have lost strength, but a round of 16 at a Masters is actually motivation enough. At 1.83 metres, he is considerably shorter than Kyrgios and has only collected a total of three aces.
At the Atlanta Open, where Kyrgios withdrew, de Minaur won the title for Australia, but in Washington he was eliminated. As strong as de Minaur can be, he is not really consistent.
Even matches that go over five sets, as in Wimbledon, can tilt in his favour. Although he and Kyrgios are both from Down Under, they have never actually met each other directly.
My Kyrgios de Minaur Tip
Whatever Nick Kyrgios touches turns to gold. It sounds a bit cheesy, but in these months it certainly applies. Suddenly, the extroverted star is succeeding at everything, and in addition to good results, he is now also collecting titles.
In Montreal, he impressed me immensely against Daniil Medvedev. There is hardly a remedy against his service, and Alex de Minaur should find that out, too. He is a good player, but can he keep up with Kyrgios?
I can’t imagine any other winner on Thursday. However, I don’t think de Minaur will go down either. That’s why I’m sending the following tip into the race:
Kyrgios wins at over 17.5 games!
