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Sinner v Kyrgios: a power-packed first-time meeting

  • Matt Trollope

Two of the game’s most highly-rated players will go head-to-head for the first time when Jannik Sinner and Nick Kyrgios meet in the fourth round at Indian Wells on Wednesday.

World No.10 Sinner arrived in the last 16 with a three-set victory over Benjamin Bonzi, while the resurgent Kyrgios is yet to drop a set this fortnight.

The Sinner-Kyrgios segment of the draw is shaping as perhaps the most compelling this year in the Californian desert.

Kyrgios overpowered eighth seed Casper Ruud in a highly-anticipated third-round match – there is little love lost between the pair – to set up a meeting with Sinner, the winner of which could next face Rafael Nadal, the reigning Australian Open champion who is unbeaten in 2022. 

And there is plenty to like about the match-up itself between the Italian and the Australian.

Much like Tuesday’s intergenerational clash between Iga Swiatek and Angelique Kerber, the Sinner-Kyrgios blockbuster features two players at very different junctures of their careers.

Sinner is one of the game’s brightest rising stars, who began truly making waves 18 months ago when he reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal as a teenager.

Eight years earlier, Kyrgios was doing the same thing; he reached his first Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon 2014, beating world No.1 Nadal to do so.

He went on to notch another major quarterfinal at AO 2015 and peaked at world No.13 in October 2016 – a mark Sinner eclipsed just five months ago when he rose to No.11.

And while Sinner is now the top-10 player, Kyrgios finds himself ranked 132nd after having played only 12 tournaments since the beginning of 2020.

Sinner, however, is undoubtedly aware of the level Kyrgios can attain, despite the 26-year-old Aussie requiring a wildcard to enter the event.

“I know what I’m capable of. I think everyone does as well,” Kyrgios said. “It’s whether I put my mind to it. I feel rejuvenated. I just feel like I’m here, I’m happy, and I’m just ready to give my all every match.”

As well as being at vastly different points of their respective careers, another compelling contrast comes in their personalities.

Kyrgios makes his presence felt on court by expressing his emotions and interacting with the crowd, whereas the business-like Sinner is almost robotically cool and calm.

Yet one thing they have in common? Abundant power.

For Kyrgios this comes most prominently on serve, while Sinner is one of the sport’s most breathtaking ballstrikers from the baseline.

It should make for an electrifying contest when they battle for a place in the quarterfinals at Indian Wells.

“(Sinner is a) hell of a player," Kyrgios said. 

"He’s been playing exceptionally for the last year and a half, hits the ball massive. I actually played him in doubles, and I was blown off the court with how big and how effortlessly he can play.

"I know the style of tennis I need to play as well, but I’m not going to think about that right now. I’m going to go home, enjoy my time, and get some good practice in tomorrow and we’ll see how it goes.”