Showdown in the Round of 16
Even though the German men delivered a historically poor result at the US Open 2022, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year is now picking up steam. The round of 16 is on the agenda and already there is a duel that one could have imagined as a final.
World number one and defending champion Daniil Medvedev from Russia will face the strong Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios from Australia. There are certainly still some interesting players in the upper reaches of the draw, but the winner of this match can have legitimate hopes of advancing to the final.
In the head-to-head match, the Australian has the edge so far. He seems to be in the form of his life, even if he is clearly behind his Russian opponent in the ATP ranking. Nevertheless, we can well imagine placing a bet on a win for the Australian in the match between Daniil Medvedev and Nick Kyrgios. In the quarter-finals, the winner of the match between Pablo Carreno Busta and Karen Khachanov will be waiting for us.
Daniil Medvedev – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking position: 1
Position in the seedings: 1
To be honest, it has to be said that on his way towards the tennis throne, Daniil Medvedev also benefited from the fact that Novak Djokovic did not play or was not allowed to play in many tournaments. Moreover, he was lucky that no world ranking points were distributed at Wimbledon, where the Russian was not allowed to compete.
Without losing a set into the last 16
It is too early to tell whether Daniil Medvedev will still be the world number one after the US Open. As the defending champion, he has many points to defend. Should he fail in the round of 16, it will be tight to defend the year as the top player in men’s tennis. However, the Russian is in very decent shape.
In Los Cabos he recently won the tournament, but before he failed in the second round in Montreal, of all places, to Nick Kyrgios. In Cincinnati, however, it was enough for him to reach the semi-finals again, where Stefanos Tsitsipas was the last stop. The Russian seems to be quite beatable and that is why we are looking at the odds for a win for the Australian in the duel between Daniil Medvedev and Nick Kyrgios.
The world number one has had no problems at Flushing Meadows so far. However, he also had to deal with opponents who normally cannot be a threat to him. In his first three matches against Stefan Kozlov (USA), Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech and Chinese qualifier Yibing Wu, Daniil Medvedev has so far not lost a set.
Nick Kyrgios – Statistics & current form
Current world ranking: 25
Position in the seedings: 23
In terms of potential, Nick Kyrgios certainly belongs in the top 5 of the world rankings. The Australian often gets in his own way with his manner, which does not always meet with approval from many. He hasn’t completely given up these behaviours and time and again he causes minor scandals with his provocations, but the focus seems to be more on the sport at the moment.
Next attack at a Grand Slam tournament
At Wimbledon, he reached the final of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time ever this year and that seems to have spurred the Australian on. With the triumph in Washington, he proved his ambitions for the US Open. He then reached the semi-finals in Montreal. In the dress rehearsal in Cincinnati, however, he lost in round two to Taylor Fritz.
The Australian is still a hot commodity at the US Open. He almost seems to be back in Wimbledon form and in this condition we can well imagine making a prediction on the Australian’s first Grand Slam victory before the first rally between Daniil Medvedev and Nick Kyrgios.
So far, he has also been convincing in Flushing Meadows. In the first round, he had to face his compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis, whom he gave no chance in three sets. In the second round, he had to drop a set against Benjamin Bonzi from France, but he was fired up again against JJ Wolf from the USA and needed less than two hours for a clear three-set win.
Daniil Medvedev – Nick Kyrgios Direct comparison / H2H record
Daniil Medvedev and Nick Kyrgios have played four matches to date. The direct comparison speaks in favour of the Australian with 3:1 victories, who obviously copes very well with the Russian’s style of play. The first two meetings took place in Rome and Washington in 2019. Both times the man from Down Under kept the upper hand.
The defeat at his home tournament in Melbourne at the beginning of the year was certainly painful for Nick Kyrgios. However, he already had the opportunity for revenge. Just recently, both players faced each other in the second round in Montreal. The first set went to the Russian in a tiebreak, but Nick Kyrgios then prevailed after all with 6:4 and 6:2 in the second and third sets.
Daniil Medvedev – Nick Kyrgios Tip
It is probably the pairing of the round and it would be very surprising if this match was not the showdown in the Night Session. In the preparation for the US Open, both opponents have delivered very similarly and also in Flushing Meadows itself, no serious differences have been discernible so far.
Nevertheless, we see the momentum on the side of the Australian, who is now dreaming of a big triumph at a Grand Slam tournament after reaching the final at Wimbledon. He has also just beaten the Russian in Montreal.
The previous duels between the two players have shown that a clear match should hardly be expected. We can well imagine that this encounter will even go over five sets. However, we think that the man from Down Under will win at least one more set, and that’s why we’re playing the betting odds on a success for the Australian in the duel Daniil Medvedev vs Nick Kyrgios.
