Kyrgios’ kryptonite

Melbourne, January 27

Rafa 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 today.

Kyrgios was a match for the 19-time 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 bring 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-8 meeting with Austrian Dominic Thiem when Kyrgios netted a forehand after three hours and 38 minutes.

“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 at his home Open this year.

“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.”

The match was preceded by a ceremony honouring the 50th anniversary of the Grand Slam achieved by Margaret Court, once adored by Australians for her tennis prowess but now a more divisive figure because of her opposition to same-sex marriage.

Meanwhile, Dominic Thiem continued his dominance over Gael Monfils, outclassing the 10th-seeded Frenchman 6-2 6-4 6-4 to improve his head-to-head record to 6-0. — Reuters

Coaches welcome WTA trial of allowing coaching from stand

Melbourne: Coaches have welcomed the WTA Tour’s decision to allow them to help players from the stands this season after the issue became a hot topic following the 2018 US Open final when Serena Williams was controversially penalised. Williams’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou gestured to Williams during her defeat by Japan’s Naomi Osaka at Flushing Meadows, leading to a code violation and sparking a heated row between the American great and the chair umpire. Coaching from the stands would still be banned at Grand Slam events but the top women’s tour said it would trial the new system at all WTA Premier and International tournaments this year. reuters

Thiem’s mother to get inked if he wins

Dominic Thiem’s mother began a tradition last year of getting a tattoo every time he captures a title and the world number five was asked about it after a fourth-round win over Gael Monfils. “Unfortunately I have to confirm it,” Thiem, who won five titles last year, said in a courtside interview to leave the crowd in stitches. “I really would like to deny it, but no.” Asked what she could get inked if he clinches the title by winning his next three matches in Melbourne, Thiem said: “For sure, a kangaroo.” Reuters

DAY 8: HIGHLIGHTS

Halep reaches last-8 in style, rises in rankings

Fourth-seeded Simona Halep reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the 14th time in her career with a convincing 6-4 6-4 win over Elise Mertens. The 2018 runner-up won 74% of points on her first serve and made only eight unforced errors. Simona Halep rose to No. 2 in the world. The Wimbledon champion from Romania, who avoided an exodus of top seeds in the previous round, will next play Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit

Zverev’s a Frenemy

Alexander Zverev of Germany strolled past childhood friend Andrey Rublev 6-4 6-4 6-4 on Monday to end the Russian’s 15-match winning streak and book his maiden quarter-final spot at the Australian Open. Rublev arrived in Melbourne having won titles in Doha and Adelaide at the start of the season while he also won all four singles matches he contested at the season-ending Davis Cup Finals in November. In stark contrast, Zverev came to the year’s first Grand Slam lacking confidence after losing all three of his singles matches at the inaugural ATP Cup to Australia’s Alex de Minaur, Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas and Canada’s Denis Shapovalov. Zverev won 49 of his 54 first-service points, struck 11 aces and hit his 34th winner to complete the win in an hour and 37 minutes

Anastasia a hIt

Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova rallied from a set down to beat former champion Angelique Kerber 6-7(5) 7-6(4) 6-2 to move into the quarters in Melbourne for the third time in four years

Muguruza goes On

Unseeded Spaniard Garbine Muguruza continued her charge towards a third Grand Slam title and first since Wimbledon 2017 with a 6-3 6-3 fourth-round win over ninth seed Kiki Bertens. Muguruza has now won back-to-back matches against top-10 opposition for the first time in three years

Kontaveit on a roll

Anett Kontaveit of Estonia, seeded 28th, rallied from a set down to beat Polish 18-year-old Iga Swiatek 6-7(4) 7-5 7-5 to secure her maiden quarterfinals appearance

Unwavering Wawrinka

Stan Wawrinka emerged from a mid-match loss of confidence to battle past Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev to reach the quarterfinals with a 6-2 2-6 4-6 7-6(2) 6-2 victory. Medvedev, 23, arrived in Melbourne after a 2019 season featuring four titles and a Tour-leading 59 match wins and came into Monday’s contest against Wawrinka having won both career meetings at Grand Slams in four sets. Wawrinka hit a staggering 71 winners on his way to victory