Atlanta Open 2021: Nick Kyrgios vs Cameron Norrie preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: Nick Kyrgios vs (3) Cameron Norrie
Date: 29 July 2021
Tournament: Truist Atlanta Open 2021
Round: Second round (Round of 16)
Venue: Atlanta, United States
Category: ATP 250
Surface: Outdoor hard
Prize money: $555,995
Live telecast: USA - ESPN & Tennis Channel
Nick Kyrgios vs Cameron Norrie preview
Nick Kyrgios blazed his way past Hall of Fame Open champion Kevin Anderson in the first round of the Atlanta Open on Tuesday. Kyrgios will next face another recently crowned ATP champion in the shape of Cameron Norrie in the second round.
Kyrgios defeated Anderson 7-6(4), 6-3, thoroughly entertaining the crowd with his bag of tricks that included a tweener and a couple of underarm serves.
The mercurial Australian hammered down 15 aces and won 86% of his first-serve points in a dominant serving display. More importantly, he did not concede a single break point to the Protean. In fact, Kyrgios lost just 14 points on his serve in 10 games.
Kyrgios has fond memories of Atlanta, having won the event in 2016. But the Australian has been without a title since 2019 and will be hoping to rewrite that statistic this week.
Cameron Norrie, meanwhile, lifted his first-ever ATP Tour title in Los Cabos just a few days ago. Norrie had previously lost three finals in 2021 but finally broke his duck by beating Brandon Nakashima in the Mexican city.
Norrie has won 16 of his last 20 matches, with his only defeats in this period coming to Roger Federer, Matteo Berrettini, Rafael Nadal, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. He is high on confidence and will fancy his chances of taking down the entertaining Kyrgios.
Nick Kyrgios vs Cameron Norrie head-to-head
The head-to-head between Nick Kyrgios and Cameron Norrie is tied at 1-1. The two players first faced each other at Atlanta in 2018, with Kyrgios retiring while trailing 5-7, 0-3.
The next time Kyrgios and Norrie locked horns was at the 2020 ATP Cup, with the Aussie winning 6-2, 6-2.
Nick Kyrgios vs Cameron Norrie prediction
Despite all the success that Cameron Norrie has enjoyed this year, there are still some glaring shortcomings in his game that can be exposed by big-hitters like Kyrgios.
The Australian has a massive serve and forehand and can blitz through his service games. He also has great touch and is capable of hitting deft drop shots and slices.
Norrie's biggest strength is his ability to stay solid from the baseline and put balls back in play. He will have to do a lot of that if he is to enjoy any success against Kyrgios.
Kyrgios appears to be highly motivated in Atlanta, which is always a dangerous sign for his opponents. As long as his serve fires, he should be able to douse the challenge of the Brit and advance to the third round.
Prediction: Nick Kyrgios to win in three sets.