Hey, Tennis Pro! It's finally Friday.

Kyrgios is a player who gets to excite me every time he steps out on the court. You never know what's going to come up his sleeve and his performance in Tokyo is no exception. Having had the opportunity to see him in the Wimbledon final, although without much chance of beating Novak, has been one of the greatest pleasures for me this tennis year. This in addition to the memorable semi-final against Stefanos.

I think we all have to recognize that Nick is one of the most talented on tour and always manages to leave us wanting to see more of him. Without a doubt, we fans are the ones who gain the most with a Kyrgios at his highest level. Let's cross our fingers so that the Australian maintains that top tier performances and seriousness that we have seen in recent months. I do not lose hope that his dream of the long-awaited Grand Slam title will soon come true.

Seeing this graph confirms what I have heard so much when watching Carlitos' matches from the commentators: he has to improve his serve. I was just talking about it with a tennis friend and we agreed that Alcaraz with a more effective first serve would be a virtually impossible opponent to beat.

It is not surprising to see the tallest players on the tour such as Zverev, Hurkacz and Medvedev in the most effective rank with their first serve, while it's also striking to see a Rafa appearing in a relatively low percentage compared to his peers. Stefanos for his part, as in the rest of his abilities, with an average performance manages to be at the top of the statistics.

Shapo is heating up @Tokyo

The last eight of the two ongoing tournaments are all set and I trust to see a very convincing Shapovalov in Japan. He has been seen to be very confident with his style of play, whipping his backhand all over the court, beating his opponents in straight sets.

Specifically with the Canadian, he has always been criticized to hesitate in important moments and this time the draw does not give him a break with a match up against Ćorić who has been playing a very solid and interesting tennis. Shapo is a promise that still has to confirm his potential. Meanwhile, the level he has shown in Japan gives the fans the illusion about the scope that his privileged left hand can have at the top level.

Yesterday’s Spotlight

ATP 500 Astana Open

🇫🇮 E. Ruusuvuori / D. Medvedev [3/6, 2/6]

🇰🇿 A. Bublik / 🇵🇱 H. Hurkacz [4/6, 4/6]

🇳🇱 B. van de Zandschulp / 🇷🇸 Djokovic N. [3/6, 1/6]

ATP 500 Rakuten Japan Open

🇺🇸 B. Nakashima / 🇭🇷 B. Ćorić [5/7, 2/6]

🇨🇦 Shapovalov D. / 🇯🇵 R. Noguchi [6/3, 6/1]

🇦🇺 N. Kyrgios / 🇵🇱 K. Majchrzak [3/6, 6/2, 6/2]

What’s cooking today…

🔝 ATP 500 Astana Open

🇬🇷 Tsitsipas S. / 🇵🇱 H. Hurkacz

🇫🇷 Mannarino A. / 🇷🇺 A. Rublev

🇷🇺 K. Khachanov / 🇷🇸 Djokovic N.

🔝 ATP 500 Rakuten Japan Open

🇨🇦 Shapovalov D. / 🇭🇷 B. Ćorić

🇦🇺 Kyrgios N. / 🇺🇸 Fritz T.