Montreal Masters 2022: Nick Kyrgios vs. Sebastian Baez Tennis Pick and Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2022 Montreal Masters as Nick Kyrgios takes on Sebastian Baez in the first round on Tuesday, August 9th, 2022.

Will Nick Kyrgios keep up his outstanding form at the Montreal Masters when he takes on Sebastian Baez? The Argentine is hardly a hard-court threat, but this could be a massive opportunity for him to shine. Who will prevail?

At the time of writing, Nick Kyrgios is in the semifinals of the Citi Open. And should he progress to the final, he will have less than 48 hours before his scheduled first-round match at the Montreal Masters. The trip from Washington to Montreal is unlikely to cause any jetlag, but given the amount of tennis the Australian has played in the past week, it wouldn’t come as a surprise should he pull out from Canada’s top-tier tennis event. Kyrgios has been in fine form in 2022, highlighted by winningthe Australian Open doubles title alongside Thanasi Kokkinakisin January and finishing runner-up in singles at the Wimbledon Championships.

Sebastian Baez, meanwhile, will look to address his terrible record on hard courts. The Argentine clay court specialist has not won a match on the surface since defeating Albert Ramos Vinolas in the first round of the Australian Open. In pale comparison, he has been brilliant on clay, which accounts for over half of his tour-level wins in 2022 and reached three finals. He bagged his first and thus far only ATP title in Estoril, while finishing runner-up in Santiago and Bastad.

Nick Kyrgios leads Sebastian Baez 1-0 in their head-to-head. Kyrgios outclassed the Argentine in their only meeting so far at the Indian Wells Masters, winning 6-4 6-0. But we should perhaps expect much more resistance from Baez in this one. The Montreal hard courts are one of the slowest in that category, which should aid Baez’s hopes. And given the fact that Kyrgios is coming off a taxing week in Washington, we reckon Baez might just steal a set here.