Rafael Nadal rides out challenge to reach quarterfinals

Melbourne — Rafael Nadal lost his first set of the tournament but rode out a spirited challenge from wholly committed Nick Kyrgios to move into the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the 12th time with a 6-3 3-6 7-6 (6) 7-6(4) victory on Monday.

Kyrgios was a match for the 19-times Grand Slam champion in the second and for most of the third set, but the muscle-bound Spaniard always looked like the most likely winner once he got his nose back in front.

The Australian broke back when Nadal was serving for the match in the fourth set, however, reigniting the contest and bringing the partisan Rod Laver Arena crowd back into the equation.

The world No 1 just gritted his teeth and went again in the tiebreak and he moved through to a last-eight meeting with Austrian Dominic Thiem when Kyrgios netted a forehand after 3hr 38 min.

“It was a very tough match, it seemed like I had control at the start but against Nick you are never in control,” said Nadal, who hit 64 winners to Kyrgios’s 50.

Kyrgios showed once again that he has all the skills to be a Grand Slam champion and will console himself at having shown considerably more of the mental fortitude he will need to win major prizes.

“When he is playing like today with this positive attitude, he gives a lot of positive things to our sport,” said Nadal, who has not always seen eye to eye with Kyrgios. “He is one of the best talents we have. I like the Nick Kyrgios of this tournament.”

Kyrgios has proved divisive with his on-court antics but earned praise for kick-starting tennis’s bushfire relief appeal. However, there was a more recent tragedy on his mind on Monday and he sported a LA Lakers shirt in the warm-up.

A basketball fanatic, Kyrgios appeared to be close to tears as he walked out on court only a few hours after the death of Kobe Bryant, who was later described by Nadal “one of the greatest sportsmen in history”.

The Spaniard looked to have the contest well under control when he raced through the first set against a slow-starting Kyrgios in cool, blustery conditions. Kyrgios needed 14 min to hold at the start of the second set but two games later he had a break when his forehand pass at the end of an 18-shot rally just kissed the baseline.

The Australian served out the set with two aces and, with the crowd now roaring his every point, the contest moved into a blockbuster of a 72 min third set.

The pair slugged it out through intense game after intense game and on to an equally intense tiebreak, which Nadal, also feeling the pressure, sealed despite passing up one set point with a double fault.

The Australian handed Nadal an early break for 2-1 lead in the fourth with a double fault but the “new”  Kyrgios was not about to lie down and took the set to its dramatic conclusion in the tiebreak. 

Elsewhere, powerful Swiss Stan Wawrinka beat fifth seed Daniil Medvedev 6-2 2-6 4-6 7-6 (7/2) 6-2 to set up a quarterfinal with Germany’s Alexander Zverev, who overcame close friend Andrey Rublev 6-4 6-4 6-4.

Simona Halep rose to No 2 in the world with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Elise Mertens, taking a big step forward in a rapidly clearing women’s draw.

Angelique Kerber, the 2016 champion, was the latest big name to fall as she went down to Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-7 (5/7) 7-6 (7/4) 6-2. Pavlyuchenkova’s quarterfinal will be against Garbine Muguruza, who is resurgent since reuniting with coach Conchita Martinez, beating Kiki Bertens 6-3 6-3.

Reuters, AFP