Canadian Open 2022: Nick Kyrgios vs Alex de Minaur preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: Nick Kyrgios vs Alex de Minaur.
Date: August 11, 2022.
Tournament: Canadian Open 2022.
Round: Third round (Round of 16).
Venue: Montreal, Canada.
Category: ATP Masters 1000.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $5,926,545.
Match timing: Not before 3 pm ET, 7 pm GMT and 12:30 am IST.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - Sportsnet, TVA Sports | UK - Amazon Prime Video | India - Sports 18.
Nick Kyrgios vs Alex de Minaur preview
Compatriots Nick Kyrgios and Alex de Minaur are set to square off in the third round of the 2022 Canadian Open on Thursday.
Kyrgios scored a straight-sets victory over Sebastian Baez in the first round to set up a second-round showdown with defending champion Daniil Medvedev. Both players notably claimed a title on August 7. While the reigning World No. 1 won the Los Cabos Open, the Australian lifted the Citi Open trophy.
A good start from Medevev saw Kyrgios serving to stay in the opening set at 5-4. The Russian then held a couple of set points on his serve but failed to close it out. However, he got the job done in the ensuing tie-break.
Kyrgios kicked off the second set by breaking his opponent's serve and going 2-0 up. He maintained the buffer between them until the end of the set, serving it out with ease.
The deciding set was more one-sided, with the Australian running away with the last five games of the match to win 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-2. Kyrgios has now extended his winning streak to eight matches.
KYRGIOS BEATS MEDVEDEV!
The Washington champ takes down the World No.1 in Montreal!
#OBN22 https://t.co/G8vc0LhsRw
Alex de Minaur opened his Canadian Open campaign with a tight two-set win over Denis Shapovalov. He was up against Grigor Dimitrov in the second round.
Neither player was able to create a break point opportunity in the opening set, which consequently went into a tie-break. Dimitrov led 4-1, but De Minaur won six points in a row to clinch the set.
The Bulgarian then broke his opponent's serve to start the second set, but squandered that advantage immediately in the next game. Both players had a few break-point chances over the next couple of games, but neither could capitalize.
Ultimately, Dimitrov lost out while serving to stay in the match at 6-5. De Minaur advanced to the next round with a 7-6 (4), 7-5 victory.
Nick Kyrgios vs Alex de Minaur head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between Kyrgios and De Minaur, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Nick Kyrgios vs Alex de Minaur odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Nick Kyrgios vs Alex de Minaur prediction
Kyrgios notched up one of the best wins of his career by defeating Medvedev in the second round. He hit 37 winners to just 17 errors, indicating that he played a rather clean match, and his serve was quite impressive as well.
De Minaur, on the other hand, committed a fair few mistakes against Dimitrov and ended up with 23 unforced errors. His serve was decent, though he did throw in five double faults.
Kyrgios switched up his tactics in the second round. Instead of slugging it out from the back of the court against Medvedev, he started to serve and volley frequently. He won 32 out of 48 net approach points and turned the tide in his favor.
De Minaur is renowned for his court coverage and footwork, so Kyrgios' serve-and-volley tactic might not work in this encounter. However, the latter has enough tools in his arsenal to outplay his younger opponent. He is the better server and has more firepower in his groundstrokes as well.
De Minaur won't go down without a fight, but Kyrgios is likely to come out on top in the end.
Pick: Nick Kyrgios to win in straight sets.