Monday, July 4, 2022

Nick Kyrgios | Rafael Nadal: Kyrgios eyes Wimbledon quarters as Nadal picks up the pace

Nick Kyrgios is back in action after his dramatic win against Stefanos Tsitsipas at Wimbledon on Monday as he reaches a mouth-watering semi-final with Rafael Nadal.

The maverick Australian overtook Tsitsipas in a thrilling four-set encounter on Saturday, during which he called the fourth seed out of the tournament for hitting the ball into the crowd.

Kyrgios called the umpire an “insult” as anger flared up and bad sentiment spread at the post-match press conference.

The defeated Greek player said that his opponent had a “bad side” and described him as a “bully”, commenting that Kyrgios laughed.

Kyrgios, 40th in the world, thrives on his bad-boy image and Saturday’s outbreak was not even his first of the tournament.

But it will be a different challenge against American Brandon Nakashima, a player he has never faced before, and may struggle to recreate the intensity of the big match on center court.

Kyrgios, who has reached the quarterfinals of only two Grand Slams, believes he has the firepower to win Wimbledon.

“All around, if I keep doing my things, I feel better. I’m fine,” said the 27-year-old, who garnered vocal support from the crowd on Saturday despite his antics.

Chasing the third leg of a calendar Grand Slam, Nadal found his momentum in his third-round match against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego and will now face Dutch 21st seed Boutique van de Zandschulp.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion, a two-time winner at the All England Club, reached the last 16 in straight sets after needing four sets to progress in his opening two matches.

“My best match, undoubtedly, since the start of the tournament,” said Nadal, the only top-10 player left in his side of a draw.

“I improved today. Very happy for that.

“I made a lot of things better than the previous days, the determination, the way I manage to play more aggressively, going to the nets a lot more often.”

In the other two last-16 matches, Australia’s Alex de Minaur will play Chile’s Christian Garin while Australia’s Jason Kubler will take on 11th seeded American Taylor Fritz.

Quarter Beacon for Tenacious
In the women’s competition, Harmony Tan, who defeated Serena Williams in the first round, faces American Amanda Anisimova.

Tan needed more than three hours to beat Williams but remained in top form on Saturday to beat Britain’s Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-1 in just 51 minutes.

Tan, ranked 115 in the world, said she is enjoying Wimbledon.

“I guess I like grass,” she said. “I never play on this court but I like to play with my game with slices and volleys and everything so I’m really happy.”

In the top half of the draw, the most exciting match of the day is between fourth seed Paula Badosa of Spain and 2019 champion Simona Halep, who has yet to lose a set.

Romania’s Halep, seeded 16th this year, said being champion at the All England Club has given her confidence.

Badosa is the only member in the world’s top 10 – along with Tunisia’s Ons Jabur – left in the women’s tournament.

French veteran Alize Cornet, who ended Polish top seed Inga Swietek’s 37-match winning run on Saturday, faces Australian Ajla Tomljanovic, while 17th seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan will take on unseeded Croatian Petra Martic.

Originally published at Pen 18

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