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2018 Davis Cup 1st Round, Rubber 4 Pat Rafter Arena, Queensland Tennis Centre Nick Kyrgios vs Alexander Zverev |
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Australia have been knocked out of the Davis Cup race after Alexander Zverez’s straight-sets victory over Nick Kyrgios secure Germany passage through to the quarter-finals.
Final score
Nick Kyrgios 2 6 2
Alexander Zverev 6 7 6
It’s a must-win situation for Nick Kyrgios as he looks to keep the first-round Davis Cup tie alive for Australia when he takes on Germany’s world No.5 Alexander Zverev. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 1pm (AEDT).
A tough weekend sees Australia trailing two-one coming into the final day of the tie.
Two five-set losses are never easy to take, with Zverev beating debutant Alex De Minaur in a five-set classic on the opening day, before the doubles went in the favour of Germany in what was a crucial loss for Australia.
Nick Kyrgios handed the Australians the second rubber to tie it at one-all at the end of the first day, but he has it all to do in the opening match of Day 3.
It’s been a good match-up for Kyrgios in the past though. In five meetings, he has beaten Zverev on four occasions and given the way he lifts for Davis Cup, he goes into this as favourite.
Zverev hasn’t been in amazing form either. He was knocked out of the Australian Open in the third round and really struggled at times against De Minaur on Friday.
Spending almost four hours on court won’t help his cause either with fatigue likely to play a role in this fourth rubber of the tie.
Zverev made a lot of unforced errors throughout the course of the contest against De Minaur and while he has plenty of power from the baseline and good skills at the net, his constant inability to stay ahead of the contest was a concern.
While his serving got him through a fifth set tie breaker, he doesn’t have an advantage in serving here.
The best shot in the repertoire of Kyrgios is the serve. He has accuracy like none seen on the ATP tour since Pete Sampras and his second serve is deadly. Breaking his serve has proven almost impossible throughout the summer with Kyrgios knocked out of the Australian Open in three tie breakers.
While Kyrgios will have trouble returning the Zverev serve, if he gets a look at enough second serves, his attitude of slapping winners will allow him to break and get into points against serve.
It’s the power and serve of Kyrgios which makes him such a difficult opponent, as he has proven to be previously for Zverev.
Prediction
Kyrgios has liked this match-up previously and risen in Davis Cup matches before. At home, on a court he has grown to love, Kyrgios should keep the tie alive for Australia in a tough one.
Kyrgios in four sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of the fourth rubber between Australia and Germany from 1pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.