Thursday, June 30, 2022

kyrgios: Kyrgios serves up masterclass to blow away Krajinovic

Australian Nick Kyrgios delivered a devastating serving masterclass at Wimbledon as he beat Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic 6-2 6-3 6-1 in 85 minutes on Thursday without breaking a sweat in the third round.

There were no umpire complaints or run-ins with fans, a feature of their first-round match – Kyrgios barely had time – as he knocked down 24 aces with only one double fault overall. He took the first set without losing a single point before several fans sat down.

Krajinovic, who finished 31st after reaching the Queen’s Club final earlier this month, but seen as a dangerous swimmer on the grass, could not resist the barrage as Kyrgios did not give up from start to finish.

Overall he dropped just nine points on serve and easily combined power and finesse to hit 50 winners – in contrast to his five-set struggle to beat British wild card Paul Jubb in the first round.

“I think it was too big to cross the line in the first round,” Kyrgios said. “I’ve been playing some really good tennis over the past month so I was really surprised by the way I played. But I was in my zone today, great body language.

“It’s nice to remind everyone that I’m great,” he said while laughing at fans on the number two court.

“I’ve been preparing for this tournament, it’s been going around a lot on my calendar for a whole year and I’m very excited to be here again. It’s really a tournament that I think is my best time to win a Grand Slam. Good chance, but I’ll take it match-by-match.

“Obviously I had an incredibly difficult draw, but today I couldn’t play better and now I can recover and be ready.”

Kyrgios, who has reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals only once on his debut in 2014, will next face fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the next round, with a possible semi-final against Rafael Nadal on the distant horizon.

To aid in his preparations, he withdrew from the doubles after the win on Thursday. “I am a singles player and I want to give myself my best chance,” he said.

Originally published at Pen 18

No comments:

Post a Comment

new zealand: Rain interrupts play in second ODI against New Zealand with India on 22-0 after 4.5 overs

India were 22 for no loss in 4.5 overs against New Zealand when rain stopped play in the second one-day international at Seddon Park here on...