2nd seed Daniil Medvedev kept his hopes of winning successive Grand Slam titles alive as he beat a fired-up Nick Kyrgios.
The US Open champion overcame tricky conditions, with the Rod Laver Arena crowd firmly behind their Aussie hopeful.
But Medvedev was simply too good for Kyrgios, who’s lack of match practice eventually showed, going down 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
To his credit, Kyrgios put on a real show. Although, question marks remain about his long-term commitment to the sport.
Medvedev, 25, goes on to face Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, who was one-set all and 4-0 up before injury forced Richard Gasquet to retire.
In this highly anticipated match-up between two feisty figures of our sport, both players demonstrated their astounding serving ability.
The first set saw an exchange of breaks, however, as Medvedev broke the Australian in his second service game, to take a 2-1 lead.
But Kyrgios showed the fighting spirit that has made him a regular selection in John McEnroe’s Laver Cup team.
At 4-2 down and the crowd behind him, Kyrgios roared back breaking Medvedev and holding serve to take a 5-4 lead.
Both players remained resolute as the first set went to a tie-break with Medvedev edging it 7-1.
The second set went on serve until at 5-4 up, Medvedev showed why he was one of the best returners of serve in the game as he applied pressure on Kyrgios.
The 26-year-old could only fire long, after a tense baseline exchange, as Medvedev took a two-set lead.
The crowd did their best to fire-up Kyrgios and Rod Laver Arena erupted at 3-3 in the third set.
With Medvedev serving, Kyrgios found himself 30-15 up and earned two break points in arguably the point of the match.
Both players were simply bludgeoning the ball from the baseline.
Medvedev tried the drop-shot to shorten the point, but Kyrgios magnificently got to it.
And Medvedev’s driving backhand cannoned off the Kyrgios racquet into the open court, sending the Melbourne crowd into raptures as Kyrgios raced around the back of the court in celebration.
Kyrgios captured the break of serve to move 4-3 up and another majestic point soon followed.
At 30-0 up, it looked like being a comfortable hold for Kyrgios but Medvedev began to mix it up, slicing and dicing, and played a cheeky drop-shot.
Kyrgios reached it, only for Medvedev to lob the Australian, who sprinted back and delighted the crowd with his signature hotdog shot.
Kyrgios began to return everything Medvedev was throwing at him, and blasted the ball straight at him, unable to return it, the ball bounced in to send the crowd into hysteria.
Kyrgios served out the third set 6-4, sealing it with a classy drop shot.
At 3-2 in the fourth set, Kyrgios began to wilt and was broken by Medvedev.
A smashed racquet and a point violation saw the wheels eventually come off Kyrgios’ challenge, as he was overheard saying to wheelchair tennis player Dylan Alcott: “I’m throwing the kitchen sink at him.”
It wasn’t enough however, as Medvedev proved far too strong sealing another break in the final game, to wrap up the fourth set 6-2 and his place in round three.
After the match, Medvedev voiced his displeasure with the crowd, after some boos during his service games.
Legend Jim Courier tried to diplomatically restore peace and order, but Medvedev won’t care.
He professionally swept aside a raucous crowd and a dangerous opponent, and will only get stronger as the tournament progresses.
