Rafael Nadal vs Nick Kyrgios Wimbledon 2022: How and where to watch online for free, 8 July

We are not far away from finding out who will lift the Wimbledon trophies in all departments. This has been a memorable journey consisting of various high-octane battles and that is why the viewership has increased dramatically over the next few days. Surely, come-from-behind wins by Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal added up to the drama. And the drama is always sky-high when Nick Kyrgios is playing, he will take on Rafael Nadal on 8 July. Nadal comes into the game after defeating Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 in an exciting game that lasted more than four hours. Meanwhile, Nick Kyrgios had a much easier time against Cristian Garin, as he won 6-4, 6-3, 7-6. Rafa is not in his full health, suffering from a seven-millimeter cut in his abdomen but his guts are literally too much to handle for anyone to have played the game. Nick’s game is at its peak and his service game remains unmatched. Can Nick take advantage of a battered Rafael here?

To continue the old tradition, BBC has taken the baton to broadcast Wimbledon games in the United Kingdom, which is the home of this oldest Grand Slam. To those who are living in the USA, you can watch this tournament on ESPN. EuroSport has been the traditional broadcaster in the European nations. For the people living in the Indian subcontinent, Star Sports has been hosting the game. To those who’d like to catch it online, Hotstar is going to display games for Indian subcontinent viewers while Fubo, Sling TV, and Hulu TV are doing so for global viewers. 

Nadal was challenged to his deepest core by the amazing game of Taylor Fritz, whose composure was stunning till the tiebreaker. It was clear that Nadal wasn’t himself especially when he lost the first set but the Spaniard came in full force in the subsequent periods. He finally had his service and forehand+backhand game in full flow during the fourth set but Fritz wasn’t allowing him to break the serve easily, ultimately, Nadal persevere to eke out the game in a tiebreaker. He did a great job in terms of receiving points, winning 66-62 in that regard while getting outmatched 102-106 in service points.

Nadal has been doing a wonderful job of establishing early advantage and has found his service game in the last two match-ups but the abdomen tear can play a role in slowing him down. The thing that makes Nadal special is his ability to switch between backhand and forehand, using a lot of energy in his shots. His physique is well-sculpted and he showed how far he can go to win during the last game. Rafa continues to amaze us with his incredible will.

Kyrgios has had his own medical issues, related to his shoulder mostly. But that was certainly not a factor when he took on Garin in the last game. Garin did his best, but when Nick gets his service game going, even the best of the players can’t do anything. Except for a third-set tiebreaker, Kyrgios finished things in a hurry as he usually does. He continued to nail his Aces and had 15 of them against Garin in a short span of three sets. Thanks to his strong service game, he extracted a 73-56 service points advantage which was the decisive factor.

His most incredible win of the tournament came against Stefanos Tsitsipas in four sets, whereas even Nakashima put him to test. The win against Stefanos was more stellar because Nick got outmatched in terms of Aces but still used great rhythm to defeat the elite Greek player. Nick entered the tournament as an unseeded player and not many thought he’d get so far. Forget many, even he didn’t think he would make it to the Semis. The athlete has taken a liking to the grass surface for sure.

Context

Kyrgios can be the worst type of opponent Rafael can face in his condition. He is someone who uses his forehand well and puts a lot of speed into his services which will mean that Rafa will have to use a lot of energy to compete against him. Rafa is a fighter, warrior, or whatever you want to call him, he surely has earned his way here, but Kyrgios can create a lot of havoc. A lot will depend upon how Nick applies his focus because that can be an issue. I doubt Nick’s shenanigans will work against Rafael who has just too much experience to fall for such tricks. These two have met nine times with Nadal winning six and Nick three times. During Wimbledon, these two have met twice, with each player winning once.

Win/Loss Betting

As per 1xbet, Kyrgios enters with favorable odds of 1.67 to win the game whereas Rafael Nadal has been given the odds of 2.4. As per these odds, this promises to be a close one.

Total Games

These two have engaged in marathon games during Wimbledon but can Rafa’s abdomen hold up again in a long scenario? Yes, I do think so. I think the total games will be “Over” 40.5 which has the odds of 1.975.