TennisSection previews the 2022 Indian Wells as Casper Ruud takes on Nick Kyrgios in the third round on Monday, March 14th, 2022.
Casper Ruud and Nick Kyrgios will collide for the first time since their infamous Twitter spat last year. The pair of them will see eyeball to eyeball in what should be a frenetic third-round match at Indian Wells. Who will come out on top?
Casper Ruud overcame some dogged resistance from American qualifier Christopher Eubanks to reach the third round of Indian Wells. Eubanks had mastered the big-serving Maxime Cressy in a first-round stunner, but could not match Ruud for too long. Indeed, the match itself was extremely tight despite the Norwegian’s ranking status. Ruud had to dig deep to take the first set on a tiebreak. That seemed to take the sting out of Eubanks who was broken twice in the second set. Now the eighth seed will brace himself for a much sterner examination against the high-flying Nick Kyrgios.
Nick Kyrgios seems to have found some motivation on a tennis court. He reached the third round of Indian Wells without dropping a set, after knocking off Sebastian Baez and Federico Delbonis in quick succession. The Australian wild card is also competing in doubles at the event where he won his first-round match alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis. The pair of them haven’t lost a match in doubles as a team, having captured a historic Australian Open title in January.
Casper Ruud owns a 1-0 head-to-head record over Nick Kyrgios. For the antics alone, this should be a treat. The last time these two players squared off at the Rome Masters in 2019, Kyrgios was defaulted for his on-court tantrums which saw him lose his entire prize money at the tournament in addition to a fine of 20,000 Euros for three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties he received during the match. I honestly think this match has the potential to go off the charts, provided the Aussie can keep his temperament in check. Ruud’s heavy topspin is very effective on what appears to a dead hard court in Indian Wells. Kyrgios, for his part, has bulldozed his way into the third round with a mix of style, power and poise, and which should give him the favorite tag on Monday. It’s a tough one to call, but I’m siding with the unpredictable Kyrgios.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Nick Kyrgios to win in 3 sets.
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