TennisSection previews the 2022 Miami Open as Nick Kyrgios takes on Adrian Mannarino in the first round on Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022.
Will the mercurial Nick Kyrgios make up for his absence in the past couple of seasons this year? The Aussie was in decent form at Indian Wells last week, and will be playing at the Miami Open for the first time in two years. His opener is not a cushy one by any stretch, as he takes on the flat-hitting Adrian Mannarino.
Nick Kyrgios believed he was the man to end Rafael Nadal’s unbeaten start to the year at Indian Wells. And in fairness, you couldn’t fault him. Kyrgios had already beaten Nadal multiple times before including their very first meeting at Wimbledon in 2014, and had his chances of upsetting the Spaniard in California, before falling short in a three-set epic. The 26-year-old is targeting a return to the upper echelons of the sport after his limited on-court appearance in the past couple of years cost him dearly in terms of ranking. He has since re-entered the world’s Top 100 following that quarterfinal run at the Indian Wells tennis garden and should be expected to make another deep run at the Miami Open where he is a two-time semifinalist.
Nick Kyrgios’ opener is a tough one as he was drawn to face the French lefty Adrian Mannarino. The 33-year-old southpaw put together one of his best starts to the year in Australia where reached the Round of 16 of the year’s first Major for the first time. Mannarino played a colossal tiebreak set against Rafael Nadal before losing in straight sets in their four-round encounter. That defeated only galvanized Mannarino to remain a perennial threat on hard courts. He made the quarterfinals in each of his next three tournaments including the scene of his last tour-level win in Delray. The veteran Frenchman, however, has lost his last three matches including the first round of Indian Wells last week to Brandon Nakashima. Can he upstage Nick Kyrgios at the Miami Open?
Nick Kyrgios and Adrian Mannarino have not crossed paths on the ATP Tour. Wednesday’s match at the Miami Open will be their first official meeting. It will be interesting to see how Kyrgios’ body holds up by playing back-to-back tournaments in such a short space of time. The Australian World No. 74 has made limited on-court appearances in the past couple of years citing the need to remain cautious of the pandemic and his public disclosure of fighting depression. Still, I think when Kyrgios turns it on, he is such an entertainer and stoic competitor. I expect him to be in full throttle against Mannarino.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Nick Kyrgios to win in straight sets.
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