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Indian badminton star Kidambi Srikanth will take on World No. 43 Arnaud Merkle on Thursday in his quest for a berth in the quarterfinals of the Hylo Open 2022 Saarbrucken, Germany.
The former World No. 1 had to dig deep for his 15-21, 21-14, 21-13 win over 21st-ranked Lu Guang Zu in the first round on Wednesday. He will be eager for an easier outing against the Frenchman, ranked 32 places below the Indian.
Srikanth is currently the last Indian standing in the men's singles category at the Super 300 Hylo Open. While Lakshya Sen lost his opener on Tuesday, HS Prannoy withdrew from the event and Sameer Verma retired from his first-round match.
Kidambi Srikanth vs Arnaud Merkle: Head-to-head & prediction
This will be their first meeting, so their head-to-head is currently tied at 0-0.
With Merkle not being a regular in the bigger events, the Commonwealth Games bronze medalist will breathe easy after having failed to reach the quarterfinals in his last four tournaments.
That said, Merkle has performed consistently in the Super 100 and International Challenge tournaments this year. The Frenchman was also a joint winner at the Syed Modi International with Lucas Claerbout as the men's singles final couldn't be played due to one of the finalists testing positive for COVID-19.
The 22-year-old further went on to claim the Uganda International title before reaching the semifinals at the Canada Open and Dutch Open, apart from the quarterfinals at the Orleans Masters and Belgian International.
Merkle does have the potential to spring a surprise if Srikanth doesn't polish up his game.
Kidambi Srikanth vs Arnaud Merkle: Date and time
Kidambi Srikanth will take on Arnaud Merkle in the men's singles second-round match at the Hylo Open 2022 on Thursday.
Date: November 3, 2022.
Time: Yet to be announced.
Kidambi Srikanth vs Arnaud Merkle: Where to watch & live streaming details
The Hylo Open 2022 will be broadcast live in India on Sports18 1 and Sports18 1 HD channels only from November 5. Hence, there will be no live telecast of this match on Indian television.
Live streaming is available on YouTube on BWF.TV in selected territories. Live scores can also be followed on the tournament software here.
