Day 6 Preview: Tsitsipas, Kyrgios Renew Rivalry

  • Posted: Jul 02, 2022

Day 6 Preview: Tsitsipas, Kyrgios Renew Rivalry

Jul012022

Nadal faces Sonego on Centre Court

The Wimbledon third round concludes on Day 6 at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, with the wide-open bottom half of the men’s singles draw back in action. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios headline No. 1 Court, where Alex de Minaur opens play against home favourite Liam Broady, while Rafael Nadal and Lorenzo Sonego close the day’s play on Centre Court.

Other seeded players in action include Taylor Fritz, Botic van de Zandschulp and Jenson Brooksby.

In doubles action, top seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury continue their bid for a maiden Wimbledon title while second seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic continue their title defence.

View Singles Draw | View Doubles Draw | View Schedule

[4] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs. Nick Kyrgios (AUS)

Two of the biggest personalities on the ATP Tour are set to square off for the fifth time in a rematch of their Halle meeting two weeks ago, won by Kyrgios in three sets. While neither man will be particularly pleased to see such a dangerous opponent in the third round, both are relishing the opportunity.

“I am definitely thrilled to be facing him,” Tsitsipas said of the marquee matchup. “I respect him a lot, on the court, what he’s trying to do… I think he’s playing good tennis.”

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Kyrgios, who dismantled 26th seed Filip Krajinovic with the loss of just six games to reach the third round, enters the match full of confidence.

“I’m excited,” he said. “I feel like we both earned the right [to compete on a show court]. We’re two of the biggest stars in the sport. Hopefully if we both bring our best tennis, it’s going to be amazing to watch.”

The Aussie has more grass-court experience between the two, entering Saturday’s match with a 33-17 record on the surface, including a 9-2 mark this season behind semi-final runs in Stuttgart and Halle. But Tsitsipas is the only one with a grass-court title to his name, a distinction he earned last week in Mallorca. The Greek owns a 16-10 career mark on the grass, including 8-2 this year.

The fourth seed has struggled against the big game of Kyrgios in the past, trailing their ATP Head2Head series 1-3. He frustrated the Aussie in their lone match on grass in Halle, but had no answer when Kyrgios found the range on his powerful ground strokes in sets two and three.

Tsitsipas hopes to put the lessons from that matchup into practice as he bids to reach the Wimbledon fourth round for the first time since 2018.

“You just go out on the court hoping to have a good match, hoping to be able to get balls back, be precise with your shot selection,” he said. “That comes with good preparation. The rest will hopefully follow if you’re able to approach that with the right mindset.

“Let’s just say it’s a different day, it’s a different match.”

Kyrgios, who reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals in his 2014 debut, is seeking to reach the fourth round at a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2020 Australian Open.

[2] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. [27] Lorenzo Sonego (ITA)

Nadal is still searching for top form this fortnight, but remains on course for the third leg of the Grand Slam following historic title triumphs at the Australian Open and Roland Garros. It’s the first time the Spaniard has held both of those titles entering Wimbledon, but this is certainly not the first time he’s had to grind his way through some early trouble at a Slam.

“Not the best start honestly,” he said of his four-set second-round win over Ricardas Berankis, a sentiment that could apply to his performance across both of his opening matches.

“Probably the best finish. I finished playing well. The fourth set has been the [desired] level of tennis for me, important improvement. The rest of the things I have room to improve.”

That’s a scary proposition for Sonego, who will meet Nadal for the first time on Saturday.

In each of the year’s first two majors, Nadal passed a five-set test before hitting top form down the stretch; he went the distance against Denis Shapovalov in the Melbourne quarter-finals and against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Roland Garros fourth round. 

Sonego survived a five-setter in the Wimbledon opening round against Denis Kudla, but was sharp in a straight-sets win over 21-year-old Frenchman Hugo Gaston in the second round. He played three grass events in June and reached the Stuttgart quarter-finals, giving him far more recent experience on the surface than his veteran opponent, who did not compete between Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

“He’s a player with a very positive attitude, good serve, great forehand,” Nadal previewed. “Third-round match against a difficult player. The only thing that I can expect is a difficult match. I need to play well. That’s the only way to have chances to keep going. I know him. I like the way that he plays. I think he’s a very dangerous opponent.”

[11] Taylor Fritz (USA) vs. Alex Molcan (SVK)

Taylor Fritz is leading a strong American charge at Wimbledon, with eight men from the United States reaching the third round. It’s the most Americans in that stage of a major since the 1996 US Open, with Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul already through to the fourth round in the draw’s top half.

Fritz is one of four American men competing on Saturday. After reaching a Grand Slam fourth round for the first time at the Australian Open, he is seeking to repeat that feat on the London lawns. The Indian Wells champion is yet to drop a set this fortnight, easing past #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti and British wild card Alastair Gray in the opening rounds. 

The American hit one of the shots of the tournament to secure a second set tie-break against Gray, putting his body on the line to float a passing shot beyond the Briton, who was already celebrating what he thought was a drop-volley winner.

“I heard the crowd cheering like the point was over,” said Fritz, who admitted to watching the replay immediately after the match. “But I was like, ‘I think if I fully lay out for this one, I’m pretty long… I feel if I just dive at this one and fully lay out, maybe I can get a racquet on it.'”

Should he get past Slovakia’s Alex Molcan in their first ATP Head2Head meeting, he will face either countryman Jack Sock or Jason Kubler for a chance at his best major result. He is seeded to meet Nadal in the quarter-finals.

Molcan, who recently added former longtime Novak Djokovic coach Marian Vajda to his team, is making his Wimbledon debut after reaching two ATP Tour finals this season (Marrakech, Lyon). He defeated Pedro Martinez and Marcos Giron to match his best major result from the 2021 US Open, winning six straight sets after dropping his opener to the Spaniard.

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Brooksby and Brandon Nakashima are the other Americans on the Day 6 slate, with the 29th-seeded Brooksby facing Cristian Garin and Nakashima taking on Colombia’s Daniel Elahi Galan.

Also In Action

Prior to the clash between Tsitsipas and Kyrgios on No. 1 Court, De Minaur will look to extinguish British hopes for the second straight match when he takes on Broady.

De Minaur took out #NextGenATP Briton Jack Draper on the same court in the second round and will need a similarly resolute performance to reach the Wimbledon fourth round for the first time. Broady, who is hoping to join countryman and ninth seed Cameron Norrie among the last 16, is seeking to extend his best Grand Slam run.

Twenty-ninth seed van de Zandschulp faces the resurgent Richard Gasquet, who reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2007 and 2015.

In doubles action, Ram and Salisbury face Hugo Nys and Fabrice Martin, while Mektic and Pavic continue their title defence against Americans Paul and Nicholas Monroe.

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