Raonic – Kyrgios

Big servers Milos Raonic and Nick Kyrgios will square off in a highly anticipated second round at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Rome, on red clay.

Raonic played a poor match in the first round, needing three tight sets against Cecchinato for a 6-4 4-6 6-4 victory. Raonic had a horrible serving day for his standards allowing a player like Cecchinato no less than 11 break points, while Raonic only had 9 himself. Nevertheless, it was probably just a first round scare, as Raonic has been Ok this season on clay. He is not at his best and navigated trough some tight matches, but he did reach the quarters in both Monte Carlo and Rome, losing to Murray and Djokovic.

Kyrgios is having a very consistent season and he has been surprisingly solid on clay. The talented Australian was very close to play in the semifinals last week at Madrid, losing a very tight three setter to Kei Nishikori. Kyrgios confirmed his good form in the first round here at ATP Rome – even though the had a poor opponent in the form of Caruso, Nick stayed focused and played his tennis, losing just 3 games.

Bet on Raonic vs Kyrgios and claim your 150% first deposit bonus at 18Bet.com now!

The Head 2 Head score is tied at 2-2 (Raonic 1-0 on clay), but this stat might not tell the whole story. Kyrgios won the last two meetings and, to be honest, Raonic seemed overwhelmed in both of them. It might be early to say that Raonic has a problem when playing Nick, but he was powerless in those last two matches (three, if we include an exhibition last December).

Kyrgios is playing the better tennis right now, he seems to be much more consistent and motivated this year, so it makes sense for him to be a favorite. Odds for a bet on Kyrgios are going down and that’s a logical movement.

However, the main argument for him in my eyes is the way he played against Raonic lately. In each of the last three matches (I will include the exhibition in India as well), Raonic had the same problems. He always made the first error, was pushed back by Nick’s power shots and was vulnerable to his blistering returns (this could be particularly worrying for Milos considering how poorly he served in the 1st round). It was the same scenario over and over again, So I can see a trend appearing here.

With Nick playing so well and with Milos struggling a bit, I don`t see Raonic getting his first win over Kyrgios since 2014. I`m backing the Australian here, so my tip will be Kyrgios to win. Prediction: Milos Raonic – Nick Kyrgios 7-6 3-6 4-6.

Pick: Kyrgios
Odds: 1.79 @ 18Bet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 6.32
Event date: 11 May