Match Details
Fixture: (4) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Nick Kyrgios.
Date: July 2, 2022.
Tournament: Wimbledon 2022.
Round: Third round (Round of 32).
Venue: London, United Kingdom.
Category: Grand Slam.
Surface: Grass.
Prize money: £40,350,000.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | Canada - TSN | UK - BBC & Eurosport | India - Star Sports & Disney+ Hotstar app.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Nick Kyrgios preview
Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will lock horns with World No. 40 Nick Kyrgios in the third round of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships on Saturday.
After a tricky first-round match, where he needed four sets to defeat Alexander Ritschard, Tsitsipas took on Jordan Thompson in the second round. He went up an early break to lead 3-1 and secured another break towards the end of the set before winning it.
Tsitsipas trailed 3-1 in the second set, but reeled off five consecutive games to take the set. Neither player got close to a break point for most of the third set. With Thompson serving to stay in the match at 6-5, he faced three match points. He fought off the first two, but the Greek triumphed on his third attempt to win 6-2, 6-3, 7-5.
Nick Kyrgios needed to dig deep to win his first-round match against Paul Jubb, securing a hard-fought five-set victory. Up against Filip Krajinovic in the second round, he produced a dominant performance to score an easy win.
Kyrgios raced to a 3-0 lead in the opening set. He managed another break of serve towards the end of the set to clinch it. He once again led 3-0 to in the second set and maintained his lead to win it.
Kyrgios was even more dominant in the third set, cruising to a 4-0 lead. Krajinovic managed to hold serve once after that, but the Australian claimed the next two games to win 6-2, 6-3, 6-1.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Nick Kyrgios head-to-head
The two have faced off four times before, with Kyrgios leading 3-1 in the head-to-head. He won their most recent encounter at last month's Halle Open in three sets.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Nick Kyrgios odds
(All odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Nick Kyrgios prediction
Kyrgios was absolutely brilliant during his second-round win over Krajinovic. He struck a whopping 50 winners compared to just 10 unforced errors. The Australian also hammered 24 aces. It was a masterclass in first-strike tennis and if he keeps this up, he'll be unstoppable.
Tsitsipas had a decent outing as well, but his stats pale in comparison to Kyrgios'. During their previous meeting in Halle last month, the Greek was unable to make significant inroads on Kyrgios' serve, going just 1/8 on break points. With the Australian serving so well at the moment, he'll need to figure out a viable strategy to be successful during return games.
Tsitsipas finds it difficult when he's rushed on the backhand side on grass courts. He can definitely go toe-to-toe with Kyrgios, but coming out on top in baseline exchanges will be another matter.
Kyrgios was set to compete in doubles here as well, but withdrew. One wonders if it's a precautionary measure or if he's carrying an injury. He withdrew from last week's Mallorca Championships after winning his first-round match due to an injury as well.
If Kyrgios replicates his performance from the second round, there's not much Tsitsipas will be able to do to stop him. The Australian's a better player on grass and it looks like he's finally living up to his potential. This could be another close battle between the duo, but Kyrgios is likely to make it through to the next round.
Pick: Nick Kyrgios to win in four sets.