They had speculated on it at the draw, but knew about the many unknowns. On Saturday afternoon, Roger Federer and Nick Kyrgios will face off against each other.
Sky presenter Moritz Lang described the possible match-up between Federer and Kyrgios as a “popcorn match” – and only in a few games does this name fit as well as here.
The Swissmeister himself saw it that way. “We played very well against each other,” Federer said after his victory over Guido Pella on Friday and recalled the tiebreak duels against the Australian: three tiebreaks in Madrid 2015, 6:7 (2), 7:6 (5), 7:6 (12) Kyrgios won here; three tiebreaks in Miami 2017, Federer won 7:6 (9), 6:7 (9), 7:6 (5).
And in the unofficial third duel, last year’s decisive Laver Cup match, Federer won 11-9 in the Champions Tiebreak. “We always play very close matches against each other. The same can probably be expected on grass.” Federer also said that Kyrgios had a “dream serve”, “if he meets it, it is virtually impossible to break it”.
For Federer and Kyrgios, the semi-final is hoped for, but not necessarily expected. Federer came to Stuttgart after a (voluntary) 81-day tournament break, at Kyrgios it was (forced) 61 days without singles, after he had to fight with problems at the elbow. Now he is doing well, the unpredictable Australian in Stuttgart assured us, “no problems,” he said, “that’s the good thing. The bad thing about his first appearance: Kyrgios’ zero-bock body language, which was more positive at least when he defeated Feliciano Lopez, in the end you could even notice a certain joy after the match point.
Federer versus Kyrgios, it will of course be a match that will depend on the serve: on protecting one’s own and taking advantage of the few opportunities offered by the opponent’s service.
Federer will start with the laurels of eight Wimbledon victories – and the chance to lead the world rankings again should he reach the final. And Kyrgios with the premature praise of perhaps winning Wimbledon at some point – a tournament victory on Church Road was his goal at least for 2018 (“That’s why I play tennis.”). He gave the best taste of what he is capable of on grass in the round of 16 in 2014 when he defeated Rafael Nadal.
LeoVegas, one of the leading sports betting providers, lists Federer at 1.36, Kyrgios at 3.2. Who can trust her to win? Just place your bets at LeoVegas Sportsbook!
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