Nick Kyrgios has continued his strong run at the Mexican Open with a marathon 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-4, win over three-time grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka in the quarter-finals.
The two-and-a-half hour clash saw the Australian withstood 13 aces from Wawrinka to reach his first semi-final of 2019 on the tour. Kyrgios had only won two matches this year coming into the tournament. Against Wawrinka, he produced 31 winners alongside 33 unforced errors, and broke his Swiss rival three times in the match.
“To come out there against Rafa yesterday and pull together that three-hour performance after getting some food poisoning was massive, and to back it up against Stan — I was cramping like crazy towards the end of the third set.” Kyrgios told The Tennis Channel afterwards.
“I was just trying to scull any sort of fluids, and just try to hit the ball as had as I can, and it ended up working.”
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It wasn’t just Wawrinka that Kyrgios had to contend with. During the early stages of the match he was the recipient of booing from the crowd. During the opening game, he called for a medical time out to treat his hand following a fall. Despite his hand bleeding, fans in Mexico were far from sympathetic.
“What is f***ing wrong with these f***ing people,” Kyrgios asked the trainer.
“There’s blood all over my hand, what the f*** do you want me to do?
“This is f***ing insane.”
Despite the boos, Kyrgios were unfazed during the match as he dropped his serve only once. In the decider it a single break of the Wawrinka serve that guided him to the win. Overcoming both cramping and receiving a code violation during the closing stages.
I feel good,” the world No.72 declared. “Before this tournament I wasn’t playing very good, I was struggling with injuries.
“To have two big wins – obviously Seppi in the first round is a good win as well – I just feel as if the year is kind of going back on track a little bit. So I’m feeling good.”
Kyrgios will play either John Isner and John Millman in the semi-finals. Should he win, he would progress to his first ATP Final since January 2018.
Zverev eases through
In the other half of the draw, second seed Alexander Zverev dropped only three points behind his first serve during his 6-4, 6-4, win over Alex de Minaur. The German player produced 25 winners to Minaur’s four, and converted both of his break point opportunities. Extending his winning head-to-head record against the Australian to 4-0.
“We played three times last year and we’re going to play many more times in the future. He’s a great young player with a lot of potential,” said Zverev. “It’s never easy to play him, especially after last night (vs. Ferrer), which was a very emotional match for me and the crowd. I’m happy to get through.”
Set to play in his first semi-final since triumphing at the ATP Finals last November, Zverev next takes on Cameron Norrie. Norrie, who is currently ranked 64th in the world, eased to a 6-3, 6-2, win over Mackenzie McDonald. The Brit capitalized on 35 unforced errors made by McDonald to progress to his first ATP 500 semi-final at the age of 23.
“It is amazing, it’s going to be my first semifinals of an ATP 500, I’m excited,” said Norrie.
Zverev is familiar with Norrie’s game after playing against him during his teenage years. Between 2013-2014 he won one out of their three meetings on the tour, which was a junior event in Roehampton, England.
