TennisSection previews the Indian Wells 2022 as Rafael Nadal takes on Nick Kyrgios in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 17th, 2022.
Will Rafael Nadal get the win? Will Nick Kyrgios pull off the upset? This will be a very fascinating one, where tennis legend Rafael Nadal takes on one of the great talents of the game in Nick Kyrgios in what has historically been a thrilling rivalry. Who will triumph to move through to the semifinals at Indian Wells 2022?
Rafael Nadal is the clear favorite for this match, no question about it – but I do have my doubts. I think Nadal has been struggling in a lot of areas which is evident by him falling behind to Korda, Evans, and Opelka all at some point, really getting through because of his fight and his opponents inability to pull the trigger. Nick Kyrgios on the other hand won’t be scared to do so. Their rivalry has been pretty close, and with Nadal struggling lately, this one will be by far his hardest match since the Australian Open, and he will most certainly have to pull out a bag of tricks to get past Kyrgios and book yet another spot in the semifinals at Indian Wells 2022.
Nick Kyrgios got a perfect win against Casper Ruud, and unfortunately was not able to display his level against Jannik Sinner. I definitely think Nick has a chance in this match, his serve was absolutely ridiculous, and while you can argue that Opelka has a much better serve and Nadal beat him, Nadal still couldn’t win a set with a break, and Kyrgios’ first serve is much better at acing people as he really hits his spots, unlike Opelka who was mostly just giving it to Nadal at high pace who was standing very far back. I definitely think Rafa will struggle to break him, and with him losing his serve so often this tournament, I think Kyrgios will take advantage.
Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios have met 8 times before, with Rafael Nadal leading the head to head 5-3. They have had a thrilling rivalry, playing many matches around the world. On hard courts, their head to head is 2-2, with Kyrgios beating Nadal once in Acapulco, a very slow court much like this one where Nadal has had great success. Nadal though got their last meeting down under in 4 tough sets. I don’t think Nadal will be able to bully Kyrgios from the baseline because the court is so slow. Ruud has heavy topspin himself but Kyrgios jumped all over his shots and ripped them to perfection. We saw what Korda was able to do with his power and aggression, and while Nadal is undoubtedly the favorite and intends to extend his winning streak to 19-0, I think the bad boy of tennis and a guy who can beat anyone on his day in Nick Kyrgios will just barely take him out to pull off the titanic upset at Indian Wells 2022.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Nick Kyrgios to win in 3 sets.
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