Roberto Bautista Agut (18) of Spain will face unseeded Australian Nick Kyrgios in the First Round of the 2021 US Open. The match is scheduled to be played on Monday August 30th, 2021 at 8:15pm EST.
A fierce battle is expected as Roberto Bautista Agut meets Nick Kyrgios for a spot in the Second Round at the final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open. It really is a shame that these two top players have to meet so early in the event but that is what happens when the rankings are skewed as they are due to Kyrgios not playing many events recently. Can he overcome his lack of match practice and get the win here? Or will the reliable RBA get the win and move on?
Roberto Bautista Agut is the eighteenth seed here at the US Open and is ranked number 21 in the world rankings. He has spent much of the past few seasons as a staple of the top 10 but has seen his ranking drop over the past year with some uncharacteristically inconsistent results. He is known as one of the most reliable performers on the ATP Tour and is usually a good bet for a deep run in the big events. However, a poor run of form has seen him only win one match in his past four events, and he will be eager to get his season back on track here. The draw has not been kind to him and he will face perhaps the best “unseeded” player at the US Open in Nick Kyrgios. While RBA is still considered the favorite he will be well aware of Kyrgios’ talents and knows that the Aussie is capable of beating anyone on a good day, and tends to save his best tennis when playing the best players on the biggest stages.
Nick Kyrgios is unseeded here at the US Open and due to not playing many tournaments over the past few seasons due to the pandemic finds himself ranked at #85. He is still a very dangerous player and is definitely one that all of the top players were eager to avoid early on. His huge serve and massive forehand are elite weapons on the ATP Tour and he will be looking to those to carry him through here. While he is playing one of the fittest and most consistent players on the ATP Tour, he will be able to hit through him if things are clicking so he has a strong chance of causing the upset here. This match is shaping up to be a real classic and it is definitely a match that tennis fans will want to watch. As mentioned earlier, Kyrgios saves his best tennis for the big stage and there is no bigger stage than the 2021 US Open, the final Grand Slam of the year.
This is the third time that the two players are facing each other, having won one match each. It is very hard to pick a winner here, and in my opinion the two players are very evenly matched. On one hand we have the reliable Roberto Bautista Agut who is methodical with his approach to the game, and is not likely to have a bad day and give points away. On the other we have a total Wild Card in Nick Kyrgios, who can either play at a top 5 level, or just self-implode and throw the match away. His matches are always impossible to predict as there is no way of telling how he will play, but he has been more controlled in recent times and he is usually on his best behavior at the Slams. After considering everything, I am going with RBA to get the win here. He is exactly the type of player that will frustrate the talented Aussie, and has the edge in fitness. It is very likely to be a huge battle, but give me RBA to win in four or five sets.