Top seed Rafael Nadal takes on eighth seed Nick Kyrgios in the final of China Open 2017 at the National Tennis Stadium in Beijing on Sunday, October 8.
Nadal is eyeing a sixth title of the season after making it to ATP World Tour-best ninth final of the season. The Spaniard made his way into the final in Beijing after outclassing third seed Grigor Dimitrov in the semi-final on Saturday.
The world number one edged past Dimitrov 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 to set up the third meeting of the season with Kyrgios.
Kyrgios ready for challenge
Notably, Nadal decimated the Australian sensation in straight sets at Madrid Masters, but the 22-year-old returned the favour in the quarter-final of Cincinnati Masters enroute to the final of the hard-court Masters 1000 tournament.
Kyrgios, the world number 19, who never shies away from a challenge has said he is excited about facing Nadal, who according to him, will eye revenge on Sunday. The mercurial Australian has been in good form on hard courts in the recent past despite failing to impress in Australian and US Open. His last title on the tour came in Tokyo last year.
"We've played a couple of times — he's beaten me and I've beaten him [this year]. We're 2-2 and he's going to want some revenge from the last time we played. I'm excited," Kyrgios said after outclassing higher-ranked Alexander Zverev in the semi-final on Saturday.
The 22-year-old should be high on confidence after beating the promising German, who has won as many titles (4) as Nadal and Roger Federer so far in the ongoing season. Kyrgios, who is known for his big serves, took the attack to Zverev early in the match and decimated him 63, 7-5.
When does the match start and how to watch it live
The China Open final between Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios will be played not before 7:30pm local time, 5pm IST, 11:30am GMT.
Live streaming and TV coverage
Global live streaming: Tennis TV
India: TV: Sony ESPN; Live streaming: Sony Liv
UK: TV: Sky Sports Action, BT Sport 1
Tricky test for Nadal
On the other hand, Nadal, who is chasing his second title in Beijing after winning in 2005, knows he is in for a tough test on Sunday.
"Another chance tomorrow to compete in a big match. That's important for me. That's why we practice every day and we try to improve every morning," Nadal said after his semi-final encounter on Saturday.
The reigning US Open champion started the tournament on a patchy note as he was pushed to the limits by Lucas Pouille. However, the 31-year-old bounced back strongly and has been dominant en route to the final.
Nadal has one of the best defence in tennis right now, but he needs to be wary of Kyrgios' big-serving ability. With his powerful and accurate serves, the Australian was able to beat Novak Djokovic, who is known for his ability to return well, twice earlier this year.
