Fixture: (6) Pablo Carreno Busta vs (WC) Nick Kyrgios

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Sixth seed Pablo Carreno Busta will take on World No. 65 Nick Kyrgios in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Halle Open on Friday.

Carreno Busta ended his clay season with consecutive first-round losses at the Lyon Open and the French Open. Commencing his grass season in Halle this week, he defeated rising teen star Holger Rune 6-3, 7-6(5) in the opening round.

Up against Sebastian Korda in the second round, he took an early lead in the first set to lead 2-0 but the American immediately leveled the score. Neither player got a whiff of a break point until the final game of the set. With Korda serving to stay in the set at 5-4, the Spaniard made his move as he went 40-0 up and closed out the opener on his first set point.

Korda raised his level significantly in the second set, dishing out a bagel to Carreno Busta to claim it. The Spaniard didn't let the disappointing second set get to him. He regrouped quickly and a solitary break of serve in the deciding set was enough for him to win the match 6-4, 0-6, 6-3.

After skipping most of the clay season, Kyrgios returned to action at the Boss Open in Stuttgart last week. He made it to the semifinals, where he lost to three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray in straight sets.

Kyrgios has continued his good run of form in Halle as well. He defeated home favorite Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 7-5 in the first round, setting up a second-round clash against World No. 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas. Neither player had a break point opportunity across the first nine games of the opening set.

The Australian then saved a couple of set points as he served to stay in the set at 5-4. Tsitsipas held serve quite easily in the next game and the pressure was once again on Kyrgios. The 27-year-old saved three points while on serve, but the Greek finally nabbed the set on his fourth opportunity.

Kyrgios started the second set on a strong note, breaking Tsitsipas' serve in the very first game. He secured yet another break towards the end of the set to extend his lead and then closed out quite comfortably. Both players were evenly matched in the deciding set until the very end.

A minor slip-up by Tsitsipas in the ninth game gave Kyrgios the decisive break and he served out the match with ease after that to win 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.

Kyrgios leads Carreno Busta 2-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2016 Australian Open in straight sets.

All odds are sourced from BetMGM.

Kyrgios defended his serve quite well under pressure against Tsitsipas, as he won an impressive 76% of his second serve points. He remained focused and didn't let the drama get to him as the Australian was once again involved in a spat with the chair umpire and the crowd too.

Carreno Busta's level dropped massively in his second-round clash against Korda. A similar mid-match walkabout against Kyrgios would prove to be his undoing. The Spaniard isn't that comfortable playing on grass. Including his most recent win, he has won just six matches on the surface and is yet to win a match at Wimbledon.

Kyrgios, on the other hand, is one of the best grass court players around. His big serve is always an asset and he does well during return games too. His doubles experience has made him quite effective at the net, and he's able to dictate the play with his powerful groundstrokes.

Carreno Busta has done well to get to this stage, but is unlikely to get past Kyrgios.

Pick: Nick Kyrgios to win in straight sets.

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