ATP Tournament in Washington, Round of 16, Thursday, 04.08.2022
Having to deal with the pressure of being the most likely to triumph in Washington? Nick Kyrgios had to wait a long time before he was allowed to step onto the court in such a position again.
At the latest after his final at Wimbledon, everyone realises that if he has his nerves under control, he is one of the best in the world.
In my Kyrgios Opelka tip, I reveal why I still expect a close match!
For years, tennis fans have known: Whenever Nick Kyrgios concentrates only on sports for several weeks at a time, it becomes dangerous for all the other players!
For a few months now, it has once again been the case: Kyrgios is in top form. Several semi-finals, the final at Wimbledon and most recently the doubles in Atlanta – only one more triumph in a singles competition is missing to make him really happy.
In Atlanta, he was slightly ailing, withdrew and concentrated only on playing together with Thanasi Kokkinakis. In Washington, however, he can be found alone again, why not, after all, he won the tournament in 2019.
Back then, he celebrated two brilliant victories against Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Such big names were not there this time, but Kyrgios’ two victories were very commanding.
He started with a 6-3, 6-2 against Marcos Giron, and in the 2nd round he even went one better. Although the 6-3, 6-4 was a bit closer, he also faced a very strong opponent in Tommy Paul.
The 27-year-old did not concede a single break in either game and always won more than 80% of the points on his first serve. He managed 27 aces, a point that also has to be mentioned for Reilly Opelka.
The champion of 2019 knows: “I now have to play against a player who is 2:0 ahead in the direct comparison. Opelka was also jubilant this year, in Houston to be precise, winning 6-3, 7-5.
The German betting companies are nevertheless positioning themselves clearly in favour of Kyrgios this time, sending odds of 1.30 to 3.00 into the race. Opelka, who is 2.11 metres tall, is known for his cracking serves.
So is Kyrgios, but when it comes to aces, the US American is in the lead. That was also evident in his first round in Washington. Opelka had to fight for hours against Denis Kudla, who was clearly outclassed.
In the end, the scoreboard showed 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, a typical result for the 24-year-old. 28 aces, only one break allowed, whoever plays against him fears his service from game to game.
In Wimbledon, Opelka had already failed in the 2nd round against Tim van Rijthoven, but managed to deliver an incredible 82 games in only two games. Afterwards, he passed on Atlanta, so how fit is he now for the Citi Open?
My Kyrgios Opelka Tip
For months Nick Kyrgios has been in impressive form. He can’t quite stop the provocations, but the results keep getting better.
In Washington he is still without a set loss, serving fantastically. Against Reilly Opelka, however, he is waiting for his first win, the giant from the USA is not serving worse than him at all.
Since we have two very strong serving players here and Kyrgios has never beaten Opelka, I’ll go for a tip that won’t let boredom arise:
We see more than 23.5 games!
