Nick Kyrgios vs. Reilly Opelka: Preview and betting tips

The clay court part of the tennis season is starting to pick up momentum. On Saturday night, a very interesting semi-final duel between Nick Kyrgios and Reilly Opelka will take place. Will the American take advantage of his home environment and advance to the final?

Nick Kyrgios is having one of the most successful starts to the season. He dropped out in the second round at his home Grand Slam, but he fought an even battle with Daniil Medvedev. However, he made up for it in the doubles, where he and compatriot Thanassi Kokkinakis were unbeatable and won the whole tournament.

Twenty-six-year-old Kyrgios was able to follow that up in the singles. In Indian Wells, he reached the quarter-finals against Rafael Nadal, and in Miami, he was one round ahead of Jannik Sinner, who is undoubtedly one of the greatest talents of today.

The former thirteenth player in the ATP rankings is also performing well on clay in Houston, USA. In that environment he was able to cope with McDonald and Paul. In the quarter-finals he was supposed to meet the third home tennis player in a row, but Michael Many was unable to play the match due to health reasons.

In the semi-finals he will face Reilly Opelka, so a very tough challenge. The confidant of coach Jay Berger is currently ranked eighteenth in the ATP rankings. However, thanks to his advancement to the semifinals, it is already certain that he will improve his career best and move up to seventeenth place on Monday.

During his first clay tournament of the 2022 calendar year, Opelka was able to defeat Krueger (3::6, 6::2 and 6::4) and Brouwer (6::3 and 7::5). He had a free draw in the first round as he fills the role of the number three seed.

The Australian will be the paper favourite for Saturday’s contest. He has played matches against much tougher opponents in the tournament so far. He should also have more physical strength as he had two more days to prepare. Both players can rely on excellent service. However, Kyrgios has a slightly better return, which could decide the fate of the match.