Nick Kyrgios comes up against a veteran of the game in Feliciano Lopez in the third round at Wimbledon. Join The Roar for live scores from the match, starting at 11:30pm AEST or after the match between Alize Cornet and Madison Keys.
This is a pretty significant mis-match as it pits a 21-year-old Kyrgios, playing at Wimbledon for just the third time, against the 34-year-old Lopez, making his 15th appearance at Wimbledon and his 59th grand slam appearance in total.
» Read The Roar‘s Day 6 Wimbledon Wrap
Despite that difference in age and experience, Kyrgios and Lopez have both hit the same high-point – Kyrgios was a quarter-finalist here in 2014 and Lopez has never done any better than that, though he has reached the same level on three occasions previous in Wimbledon.
Both men come into this match having just played in five-set matches, Kyrgios against Germany’s Dustin Brown and Lopez up against Fabio Fognini.
Prior to that Kyrgios defeated Radek Stepanek in four sets in his first-round match, while Lopez had a straight-sets win over Rajeev Ram.
The gap in age and maturity should offer an interesting contrast in this game. While Kyrgios has been the better performer of the two in recent times – and is ranked a few spots ahead of Lopez as a result – probably the biggest detractor form his game is his mental strength and focus.
Lopez, on the other hand, has spent a significant amount of time in the game and no doubt built up a greater resilience as a result. If he is able to push Kyrgios’ buttons tonight, that may prove the difference between the two.
Prediction
Kyrgios has it in him to win this one, but expect it to be a significant challenge.
Kyrgios in four sets.
Join The Roar for live scores from the match, starting at 11:30pm AEST or after the match between Alize Cornet and Madison Keys.