[16] Nick Kyrgios (AUS) vs. [20] Alexander Zverev (GER)
Kyrgios defeated Zverev earlier this month at Indian Wells. This would be their second encounter in the same month. One was hoping to exact some revenge and the other was hoping to continue his winning ways. When you have lost to an opponent, you expect to be a little anxious when next you meet. Fortunately for Zverev, Kyrgios has not established a history of defeating him, so while there may have been doubts going into this match, he could still have a positive attitude because he knew what he needed to do this time around. Doubts may still have been present because you wonder if you have the weapons to defeat your opponent. Although Zverev was at a slight disadvantage in terms of experience, he has just as many weapons as his opponent; however, the test for him was to execute them effectively tonight to get the victory.
The rule of thumb for any player is to hold serve and then try to break your opponent. If that fails, try to win the tiebreak, again, while protecting your serve. When you have two opponents with equally big weapons, the winner will be the one who makes his opponent most uncomfortable during his service games. Kyrgios did just that, he made Zverev uncomfortable in many of his service games and eventually he was able to capitalize by breaking him. He also never allowed Zverev to get a break point opportunity in any of his service games; thereby protecting his serve very well throughout the match. The constant pressure from Kyrgios eventually got to his opponent and the result was a 6-4, 6-7(9), 6-3 defeat of Zverev. Next up for him is the much-anticipated rematch with the great Roger Federer.
Rafael Nadal will face his nemesis, Fabio Fognini.
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