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Nick Kyrgios will be looking to silence a few doubters when he steps out to face Marco Cecchinato in his opening match at Roland Garros. Join The Roar for live scores from the match starting from 7pm.
With the constant news headlines and twitter beefs you’d be forgiven for thinking that Kyrgios hadn’t played any tennis this season. Truth is, this kid has been quite dominant on the court this year and the clay surface seems to have become a second home for him.
The scoresheet has him knocking off two top 10 players along with pushing the ultimate clay court master Rafael Nadal to three sets. I’m no expert but that lead-in sounds pretty convincing to me.
With any match including Kyrgios you’re going to get fireworks, that’s a given. We’re all just pinning our hopes on them being simple sparklers instead of the usual New Year’s Eve profanity-laced fireworks.
Kyrgios himself said through the week: “I want to win at everything and the frustration sometimes does bubble over.” Let’s see if the frustration can be kept in check for this opening match.
124th ranked Marco Cecchinato will be up against it in this first round matchup, however having taken a set off the big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic in Rome he should have a bit of confidence.
Having grown up on clay courts gives him a distinct advantage over Kyrgios and he should look to use every trick he has when it comes to the clay surface.
This is the first ever meeting between these two players.
Prediction
Kyrgios comes in as the 17th seed and should make pretty light work dispatching of Cecchinato. Provided he can keep himself mentally in check that is, Cecchinato should at least make this a fun match however don’t expect a long 5 set gruelling battle.
Kyrgios in 3 (6-3, 6-2, 6-2)
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