Preview
Once the draw for Wimbledon was held last weekend, the first thing that caught the attention was the potential to see Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios meet in the Second Round. Both had something to lose after the match in Acapulco earlier this year, but the dissent between the two players was revealed by Nick Kyrgios when joining a podcast on the French Open night.
That had been doubled by Australia after the First Round victory over Jordan Thompson when he admitted Nadal and himself were unlikely to 'go for a beer' together though it must be said there was a lot of respect between the players for what they could produce at court.
I hope to see Kyrgios try and get under Nadal's skin so I will look for one or two early armpit services, which in turn can open a large portion to the body of Australia. This can be a key battle, but many will depend on Kyrgios and from the side of the bed where he comes out and that is something we will not know until the match starts.
Now maybe suggesting this match will be in the Kyrgios racket, but that doesn't happen. Their most famous match might have taken place at Wimbledon when Nick Kyrgios surprised Rafael Nadal in four sets as a teenager, but the number mainly favored the Spaniard even when the two met on grass or hard court.
It's no surprise Nadal has dominated Kyrgios in their two clay matches, but a faster surface is more relevant. In those four matches, Nick Kyrgios has won three of them despite figures showing that Rafael Nadal is a little unfortunate not to be in 2-2 at those matches.
Nick Kyrgios may have won their hardcourt match earlier this year, but Rafael Nadal will destroy the break point missed in the match. He would know how difficult it was to break Kyrgios' service on the grass considering that the Australian player had won 90% of the service games played on the surface throughout his career, but Kyrgios had only 4-7 in the match against the top 20 players.
He continued to stand at a very high level, but the return of Kyrgios could be a weakness and Rafael Nadal has shown that he is very good at holding service on the grass for the past few years. I think that makes a difference in this, considering that Nadal holds 95% of his service matches against Kyrgios in their single grass field match in 2014 and is at 88% in their three hardcourt matches.
I would not be surprised if there were tense moments in this matter, especially when Kyrgios woke up to his antics to try and thrill Nadal. I also wouldn't be surprised at a tie-breaker, but Kyrgios has had some health problems and I think Rafael Nadal will serve and return quite well to see a player might let his mind drift because it has become a weakness for Kyrgios in recent years.
This must be a fun match, but I think Nadal can be supported to cover the handicap and win this one.
Nick Kyrgios vs Rafael Nadal: Preview & Betting Tips
IN TENNIS ATP - SINGLES: Wimbledon (England), grass - 1/32 - Final, Nick Kyrgios will welcome Rafael Nadal. The host player is in position 43 on the ATP Ranking while away players are in 2 positions on the ATP Ranking. In connection with the same competition, the hosts have a record of W-L = 2-3 with a final win of 3: 2, while away players have a record of W-L = 2-3 with a final win of 0: 3.
