ATP Tournament in Stuttgart, Semifinals, Saturday, 11.06.2022
Things get serious at Stuttgart’s Weissenhof on Saturday: Who will advance to the final? While German hope Oscar Otte has to fight it out with Matteo Berrettini, in the other semi-final two players who can be found far down the rankings will battle it out.
One is an enfant terrible who could play at the top, the other has fought his way back impressively at the age of 35 and with several injuries. No question, these two can offer the audience a real showdown.
Of course, the German betting companies know that both can be expected to win here. That’s why I’m going to look for a favourite in my Murray Kyrgios tip and I can already reveal it: My betting recommendation goes in the direction of the experienced player!
Was everyone expecting such a comeback? Andy Murray, once one of the very best and not for nothing a member of the Big Four, has had a long time of suffering. For months he had to watch, after his return nobody believed in many victories.
Now 35 years old, the Scot proved them all wrong. In the meantime, he has fought his way up to 68th place in the rankings, and the trend is rising. In Stuttgart, he could pick up the big reward for his improved performance.
In fact, he made it to the semi-finals at his premiere on the Neckar. With his 6-4, 6-3 against Christopher O’Connell, Murray did not yet attract much attention, but afterwards he beat much bigger names.
First, Alexander Bublik had to take the match 6-3, 7-6, but then Murray set about his masterpiece. 7-6, 6-3 against none other than Stefanos Tsitsipas! He often held his own against the top stars, but now he finally beat one of them.
He gave the Greek a single break opportunity, but fended it off skilfully. Winning 82% of his first serve, he unnerved one of the best players in the world and quite rightly entered the final.
There he will meet an opponent who already faced him eight years ago. He has already had six duels with Nick Kyrgios. After five wins in a row, the most recent match went to the Australian, but: it already took place in 2018.
So after a long break, the two are facing each other again on the court. Nick Kyrgios should actually be relatively relaxed, because he allowed himself the luxury of playing only one tournament on clay.
After his semi-final in Houston, he took two months to work on his form on grass. Those who know Kyrgios, of course, know: 100% motivation is not always with him.
In Stuttgart, he defeated Jiri Lehecka 7-6, 6-3 in the 1st round before facing Nikolos Bassilashvili. It developed into a duel of aces, with Kyrgios hitting 20 and his opponent 17. At the end of a close match, the Australian celebrated a 6-7, 6-4, 6-3.
Against Marton Fucsovics in the quarter-finals, another long, intense encounter was announced. Without a break, Kyrgios won the first set 7-6, but then the Hungarian had to pay tribute to his body.
He retired at 0-3 in the second set and Kyrgios is now in the top four in Stuttgart for the second time since 2018. Four years ago, he narrowly lost to Roger Federer and missed out on the final.
My Murray Kyrgios tip
Nick Kyrgios vs Andy Murray, there could be pairings for a semi-final that sound a lot more boring! What the veteran is currently conjuring up on court cannot be praised enough, even beating Stefanos Tsitsipas outright.
His results on the Neckar, however, convince me much less than those on Murray’s side. I expect an intense match, but think:
Andy Murray is going to the final!
