Australian firebrand Nick Kyrgios will look to continue his comeback from injury with a new-found attitude and motivation when he takes on Robin Haase in the second round at Wimbledon. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from around 10:45pm (AEST).
Kyrgios missed the French Open through injury, having spent some months on the sideline before it. He returned shortly afterwards and went through a strong build-up to Wimbledon, with his serve returning to him after struggling with it.
The elbow injury which had hampered him appears to be all but gone, with Kyrgios firing down a cracking 42 aces in a four-set win over Denis Istomin in the first round at Wimbledon.
It’s undoubtedly his best attribute and one which saw him advance to the semi-finals in both Halle and at Queens Club in the lead-up to the third grand slam of the year.
Kyrgios has been mainly positive during 2018, but questions will always remain about his composure. If he holds it together, it’s hard to see him losing to many opponents though.
Haase has made a name for himself by being a grafter, someone who is able to grind his way through matches, lengthen points where necessary and pick off the odd major scalp.
His style of play could well and truly frustrate Australia’s highest-ranked player, and being ranked 43 in the world just goes to show it does work for him regularly.
Grass is definitely not Haase’s best surface though, with just over 40 per cent of matches won on the fastest of the three throughout his career. It makes this an impossibly difficult task against a player with a big serve, good netplay and snappy returns.
He made three back-to-back second-round appearances in the lead-up to Wimbledon before beating Marius Copil in the first round at London on Tuesday, but none of the results should be enough to seriously pose a concern to Kyrgios.
The pair have only met once previously, coming in 2015 on clay in Estoril when Kyrgios won in straight sets.
Prediction
It’s sometimes hard to know what we should expect from Kyrgios, but he should be well and truly good enough to get the job done here over a dangerous opponent.
Kyrgios in four sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this second-round match at Wimbledon from around 10:45pm (AEST) or at the conclusion of Tomas Fabbiano and Stan Wawrinka on Court No.2 and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thanks for joining me here on The Roar for our live coverage of Wimbledon 2018. Hopefully you enjoyed the call. There are plenty of Aussies back in action on Saturday, and we will be here for all of it so be sure to check back in. We will have live scores of all the key matches on Friday as well. For now, you can follow live scores of both Bernard Tomic vs Kei Nishikori and Matthew Ebden vs Stephane Robert. Bye for now.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thoughts on the match Roarers?
Scott Pryde
Expert
Kyrgios with 19 aces and 91% of points won on first serve there.
Scott Pryde
Expert
GAME, SET, MATCH, NICK KYRGIOS Wonderful work from Kyrgios. He struggled a few times there, but managed to bounce back and close out the match with some firey serving, before Haase sent a backhand wide to end it. Kyrgios through to the third round in just an hour and 36 minutes where he will either face Bernard Tomic or Kei Nishikori. Nick Kyrgios 6 6 7 Robin Haase 3 4 5
Scott Pryde
Expert
Kyrgios goes body this time. Haase returns the backhand long and Kyrgios now has two match points for a straight-set victory. Kyrgios 6 6 6 - 40 Haase 3 4 5 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
Kyrgios with a fault. The second is at the body and returned well. Kyrgios to the net, but it was a tough volley from behind him and that won't clear the net. Kyrgios 6 6 6 - 30 Haase 3 4 5 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
Kyrgios serves out wide and Haase returns long. Kyrgios 6 6 6 - 30 Haase 3 4 5 - 0
Scott Pryde
Expert
Kyrgios with a great half volley from the middle of the court here. Haase puts a running backhand into the net. Kyrgios 6 6 6 - 15 Haase 3 4 5 - 0
Scott Pryde
Expert
KYRGIOS BREAKS... AGAIN Kyrgios breaks for a third time in this set. It's just becoming poor tactics from Haase now. Up to the net again and Kyrgios nails the passing backhand. Kyrgios to serve for the match. Kyrgios 6 6 6 - Haase 3 4 5 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Haase continues to struggle at the net. Kyrgios with a great return to help that one though with Haase sending the volley long. Three break points. Kyrgios 6 6 5 - 40 Haase 3 4 5 - 0
Scott Pryde
Expert
Haase comes racing into the net here. Opens up the court though and Kyrgios smacks the passing forehand winner. Kyrgios 6 6 5 - 30 Haase 3 4 5 - 0
Scott Pryde
Expert
Too good right here from Kyrgios. Wonderful lob as Haase comes to the net. Kyrgios 6 6 5 - 15 Haase 3 4 5 - 0
Scott Pryde
Expert
Kyrgios really needed a good service game here. He flies through it as well, holding the game to love. Wonderful serving. Kyrgios 6 6 5 - Haase 3 4 5 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Kyrgios returns long from a wide serve. All of a sudden the Aussie must hold. Kyrgios 6 6 4 - Haase 3 4 5 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Haase down the T. Kyrgios flicks the forehand wide. Kyrgios 6 6 4 - 15 Haase 3 4 4 - 40
Scott Pryde
Expert
Big serve down the T from Haase. Kyrgios can't return. Kyrgios 6 6 4 - 15 Haase 3 4 4 - 30
Scott Pryde
Expert
Great return of serve from Kyrgios. Hits the baseline and Haase can't do anything about it. Kyrgios 6 6 4 - 15 Haase 3 4 4 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
ACE! Haase starts this service game strongly. Kyrgios 6 6 4 - 0 Haase 3 4 4 - 15
Scott Pryde
Expert
HAASE BREAKS BACK Kyrgios with another double fault. Oh dear. Haase breaks back. Kyrgios 6 6 4 - Haase 3 4 4 -
Scott Pryde
Expert
Kyrgios with a double fault again. He will challenge once again, but it was wide. Break back point. Kyrgios 6 6 4 - 30 Haase 3 4 3 - 40