RAFAEL NADAL HAS booked his spot in the Australian Open quarter-finals after edging out Nick Kyrgios in a four-set thriller.
33-year-old top seed and world number one Nadal had not dropped a set so far in this tournament before 23rd-seed Kyrgios proved to be the top seed’s toughest test thus far.
The Spaniard came through 6-3 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4), and will now face Austrian fifth seed Dominic Thiem in the last eight.
Australian Kyrgios — a huge basketball fan — came on court wearing an LA Lakers shirt in honour of the late Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash yesterday.
It was a riveting clash on Rod Laver Arena, as Nadal kept his quest for a 20th Grand Slam title alive in reaching his 41st Grand Slam quarter-final.
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The tennis heavyweights went head-to-head for three hours and 38 minutes in an epic encounter, in which the pair played some mesmerising rallies in a high-quality third set before Nadal pulled away.
Now, his bid to win just a second Australian Open title (his only was in 2009) roars on.
“What can I say about Nick? When he is playing like he did today with this positive attitude, he brings a lot of positive things to our sport,” Nadal said of his rival afterwards.
Kyrgios warmed up in a Kobe Bryant basketball shirt. SIPA USA / PA Images
SIPA USA / PA Images / PA Images
“I encourage him to keep working like this because he is one of the highest talents we have on our tour, and I like the Nick Kyrgios during the whole of this tournament.”
It was billed as a grudge match after a series of bad-tempered exchanges last year when Nadal accused Kyrgios of lacking respect, and the Australian fired back that the Spaniard was “super salty”.
But Kyrgios struck a conciliatory tone beforehand, calling Nadal “a hell of a player,” and the clash was played with respect from both sides.
There was little to split them on paper, with Nadal leading their career head-to-head 4-3 but Kyrgios 2-1 up on hardcourts and an even 1-1 in their Grand Slam matches, both at Wimbledon.
The second of those, last year, was a torrid affair, with Kyrgios ranting at the umpire, serving underarm and deliberately firing a forehand at the Spaniard.
Today, there was just one main incident from Kyrgios. When he went 3-1 down in the tie-breaker, he slammed his racket off the court, leaving it a mangled mess.
- Additional reporting from AFP
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Nadal beats Kyrgios in epic clash to reach Australian Open quarter-final
RAFAEL NADAL HAS booked his spot in the Australian Open quarter-finals after edging out Nick Kyrgios in a four-set thriller.
33-year-old top seed and world number one Nadal had not dropped a set so far in this tournament before 23rd-seed Kyrgios proved to be the top seed’s toughest test thus far.
The Spaniard came through 6-3 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4), and will now face Austrian fifth seed Dominic Thiem in the last eight.
Australian Kyrgios — a huge basketball fan — came on court wearing an LA Lakers shirt in honour of the late Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash yesterday.
It was a riveting clash on Rod Laver Arena, as Nadal kept his quest for a 20th Grand Slam title alive in reaching his 41st Grand Slam quarter-final.
The tennis heavyweights went head-to-head for three hours and 38 minutes in an epic encounter, in which the pair played some mesmerising rallies in a high-quality third set before Nadal pulled away.
Now, his bid to win just a second Australian Open title (his only was in 2009) roars on.
“What can I say about Nick? When he is playing like he did today with this positive attitude, he brings a lot of positive things to our sport,” Nadal said of his rival afterwards.
“I encourage him to keep working like this because he is one of the highest talents we have on our tour, and I like the Nick Kyrgios during the whole of this tournament.”
It was billed as a grudge match after a series of bad-tempered exchanges last year when Nadal accused Kyrgios of lacking respect, and the Australian fired back that the Spaniard was “super salty”.
But Kyrgios struck a conciliatory tone beforehand, calling Nadal “a hell of a player,” and the clash was played with respect from both sides.
There was little to split them on paper, with Nadal leading their career head-to-head 4-3 but Kyrgios 2-1 up on hardcourts and an even 1-1 in their Grand Slam matches, both at Wimbledon.
The second of those, last year, was a torrid affair, with Kyrgios ranting at the umpire, serving underarm and deliberately firing a forehand at the Spaniard.
Today, there was just one main incident from Kyrgios. When he went 3-1 down in the tie-breaker, he slammed his racket off the court, leaving it a mangled mess.
- Additional reporting from AFP
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