The Pick Wimby F Kyrgios Djokovic

If there’s any positives to take from Rafael Nadal needing to withdraw before the semifinals, it’s that tennis fans were guaranteed the opportunity to see Nick Kyrgios in a Grand Slam final. Kyrgios might be a polarizing personality, but there is no denying that he is one of the game’s most exciting players. And now, we’ll get a chance to see him in a meeting with Novak Djokovic, which should make for an explosive match-up. The Serbian even said that there should be a lot of “fireworks emotionally” from both players.

While Kyrgios has never played in the final at a major, Djokovic will be looking to win his 21st Grand Slam title. That gives the 35-year-old a huge edge in the experience department. But Kyrgios isn’t the type of player to let nerves get to him. The Australian occasionally gets into it with umpires, of course, which can throw him off his game and would doom him against Djokovic, who is too good not to take advantage of a situation like that. But for what it’s worth, the 27-year-old has done a decent job of keeping his emotions in check all year—his third-rounder against Stefanos Tsitsipas notwithstanding—and he genuinely seems happier and more focused than ever.

Kyrgios also happens to be playing the best tennis of his life right now, and is 12-2 since the start of grass-court season. The Australian boldly claimed that he is a Top 5 or 10 player in the world on this surface, and he has backed it up with some impressive play over the last couple of weeks. Kyrgios also made a run to the quarterfinals in Indian Wells back in March, which was just another impressive accomplishment in what has been the best year of the Australian’s career.

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In addition to being in a great place mentally, Kyrgios also happens to be one of the game’s elite servers. His ability to quickly win games with the ball on his racquet is giving him a chance in nearly every match he plays. In addition, he happens to be in great shape right now; that, along with having not had to play a semi-final match, should allow him to hang in there physically against one of the fittest players to ever play tennis. All of these impressive changes for Kyrgios give him a great shot to make this a competitive match—or even pull off an upset—against Djokovic here.

While the Serbian is clearly one of the best players in the world at this point, he has dropped at least one set in each of his last three matches. His opponents were a bit of a mixed bag over that span, as he faced world No. 104 Tim Van Rijthoven, world No. 13 Jannik Sinner and world No. 12 Cameron Norrie. Kyrgios is playing better than all three, which makes it hard not to like the Australian’s chances to give Djokovic a run for his money in this one.

All in all, it’s just not hard to see a scenario in which Kyrgios comes out firing and tries to show the world how good he is on one of the grandest stages in tennis. And considering DraftKings gives you the opportunity to take him to win two sets at plus-money, the value is rather remarkable in this match. Taking this play would protect you in the event that Djokovic’s experience allows him to prevail in a deciding set. That makes this a safer option than taking Kyrgios on the moneyline, and the odds are still in your favor.

The Pick: Kyrgios To Win At Least Two Sets (+155)