Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios are set for a Wimbledon blockbuster clash when they meet this weekend. Richard Gasquet is expected to come out top against Botic van de Zandschulp.
2022 ATP Tour
Grand Slam Tennis
Wimbledon Championships
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, England (Outdoor Grass-court)
Selected 3rd Round Matches- 2nd July
Nick Kyrgios (72/100) vs Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) (21/20)
This is certainly shaping up to be one of the blockbuster matches of the Championships thus far.
Nick Kyrgios caused a bit of a stir recently (surprise, surprise) by stating that he was one of the ‘top five, top ten’ players in the world on grass. To be honest, he may be onto something with that. His 2nd round demolition of Filip Krajinovic was a textbook display of grass-court tennis. He hit a whopping 50 winners.
This included 25 aces and only one double fault (which is crazy considering how much gas he puts into some of those 2nd serves). He never faced a break point in the entire match. That victory took his career grass-court record to 42-21. It seems as if Kyrgios is finally starting to realize that he isn’t a 21-year-old firebrand anymore.
There’s only enough room in Aussie tennis for one perpetual fool (and that’s Bernard Tomic). Kyrgios has the game to win this Slam if he can replicate that Krajinovic performance with any regularity.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has quietly gone about his business this year, with Rafa Nadal and Carlos Garfia Alcaraz eating up all the headlines. But the Greek has actually compiled a pretty solid campaign of his own.
He showcased his growing Grand Slam nous with a semi-final run in Melbourne. He won titles in Monte-Carlo and Mallorca and lost finals in Rome and Rotterdam.
The Greek came into this season with a 2-4 record on grass dating back to 2019. But he seems to have figured out some of his grass-court issues and he is currently rocking a solid 8-2 grass-court record this year. That included his maiden grass-court title in Mallorca. Tsitsipas seems to have reorganized himself into a far more efficient grass-court player.
He seems to be applying less back-lift on both his forehand and backhand side. This is affording him more room to time his shots with the sort of precision that we have become accustomed to on clay.
The Verdict: Kyrgios to win in five at 42/10- Kyrgios is 3-1 in his career over Tsitsipas. That included a very tight victory in Halle earlier this year. The serve is the area that has helped Kyrgios dominate on grass this year. He currently has a remarkable 96.5% hold rate on grass this year. That’s insane.
It proved the difference in his Halle encounter with Tsitsipas (Tsitsipas won only 50% of his 2nd serve points while Kyrgios won an amazing 81%). Tsitsiaps is going to need to be more aggressive on his 2nd serve to compete in this match. This could be a classic.
Botic van de Zandschulp (21) (38/100) vs Richard Gasquet (19/10)
With Tim van Rijthoven still going strong, it’s turning into a pretty exciting year for Dutch tennis at Wimbledon. 26-year-old Botic van de Zandschulp has actually negotiated a tricky draw with aplomb.
The 6 ft 3 powered past Feliciano Lopez in his opening match. He then came from a set down to see off Emil Ruussuvuori in four. That win was significant as it avenged van de Zandschulp’s defeat to the Fin at the Libema Open.
The Dutchman has now progressed to a solid 24-16 record for the year (this included a run to the Bavarian Tennis Championships final). He has already showcased his grass-court expertise with a solid semi-final run at Queens.
Van de Zandschulp rose to prominence with an unheralded run to the quarterfinal of last year’s US Open. He seems to have a taste for the big stage and he will relish this 3rd round clash with Grand Slam stalwart Richard Gasquet.
Will this be Richard Gasquet’s Wimbledon swansong? Unlike his friends Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon, Gasquet has not committed to retirement just yet.
The man with the beautiful single-handed backhand has been a pleasure to watch throughout his entire career. He has proven to be something of a Wimbledon aficionado (twice reaching the semi-final stage here). And he seems to be drawing from that fount this year. He needed to draw on all his experience to overcome Joao Sousa in his first match.
It was an epic five-setter that saw Gasquet avenge this year’s Geneva Open semi-final defeat. Gasquet was more impressive against Mackenzie McDonald, consistently using that backhand to attack the American’s 2nd serve.
The Verdict: van de Zandschulp to win in four at 34/10- Gasquet was forced to withdraw from their only previous encounter at this year’s Aussie Open.
I think that Gasquet is going to struggle to physically match his much younger opponent. He has spent far more time on court and van de Zandschulp has been remarkably assured this week.
