Rome Masters: Nick Kyrgios vs Casper Ruud, Preview and Prediction

After eliminating an out-of-sorts Daniil Medvedev in the first round, Nick Kyrgios will square off against young Norwegian Casper Ruud in the second round of the Rome Masters on Thursday.

Kyrgios showed his variety against Medvedev in the first round with his use of drop shots and clever, not allowing the Russian to settle into a rhythm and play his natural game.

Medvedev also struggled to maintain the level of tennis he had displayed in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona which allowed Kyrgios to dominate from the get-go. While Medvedev did show some fight in the second set, the Australian gained the upper hand early in the third to seal the victory.

On the other hand, Casper Ruud defeated British player Dan Evans, 7-5, 0-6, 6-3 and is in a decent run of form. Ruud became only the second Norwegian player to reach the top 100 in the men's singles rankings after his father Christian Ruud and he also reached his first finals on the tour level in the recently concluded clay court tournament in Houston.

Head-to-Head record

This is the first meeting between the two players and it will be interesting to see the approach of the Norwegian heading into this match. He will be up against an unpredictable and volatile player in Kyrgios and will need to stay calm and composed over the course of the encounter.

Kyrgios seemed to be in great shape against Medvedev as he struck 41 winners in the match. If he can summon some of that energy once again, he will definitely be the favorite in this encounter as well.

For Ruud to win this match, he will need to play at an extremely high level and hope that Kyrgios has an off-day.

Probability of winning: Nick Kyrgios - 60%, Casper Ruud - 40%.