A calm Kyrgios beats Nakashima on Centre Court
REUTERS
An angelic Nick Kyrgios reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final in seven years when he recovered from a slow start to beat steady American Brandon Nakashima in five sets on Wimbledon's Centre Court on Monday.
With Kyrgios's bad-tempered Court One victory over fourth-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas still the talk of the town, the Australian was on his best behaviour in front of the Royal Box as he ground out a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-2 win.
Unseeded Chilean Cristian Garin awaits in the last eight, offering Kyrgios a golden opportunity to surpass his quarter-final run at Wimbledon in his debut in 2014.
After the mayhem of Saturday, when Kyrgios was accused by Tsitsipas of being a bully, he let his tennis do the talking against the 20-year-old Nakashima, barely uttering a word in anger throughout a contest that contained few of the fireworks usually associated with the Australian.
If anything the world No. 40 looked subdued. Serving for the match, the 27-year-old recovered from 0-30 down and sealed the victory with a silky volley winner.
Second-seed Rafael Nadal took another step forward in his bid for a rare calendar-year Grand Slam on Monday by booking his spot in the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a commanding 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (6) win over Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.
A third Wimbledon title and first since 2010 on the manicured lawns and a U.S. Open triumph would see Nadal - the reigning Australian and French Open champion - claim the calendar slam, a feat last achieved in 1969 by Australian great Rod Laver.
Nadal will face Taylor Fritz of the U.S. in the quarter-finals. Fritz defeated Australian qualifier Jason Kubler 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 on Monday.
Chile's Cristian Garin showed amazing tenacity to come from two sets and 3-0 down and save two match points as he beat Australian Alex de Minaur 2-6, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (6) in a hugely entertaining five-set slug fest to reach his first grand slam quarter-final.
Top seed Novak Djokovic, chasing a fourth straight Wimbledon crown, raised his level to put an end to the fairytale run of Dutch wildcard Tim van Rijthoven during a battling 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory late Sunday and keep his Wimbledon title defence on track.
Former champion Simona Halep thrashed fourth-seeded Spaniard Paula Badosa 6-1, 6-2 and reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
Kazakh 17th seed Elena Rybakina hit twice as many winners as unseeded opponent Petra Martic of Croatia on Monday to progress to her maiden Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 7-5, 6-3 victory.
The 23-year-old Rybakina, who switched to playing for Kazakhstan from Russia when she was 19, will play Ajla Tomljanovic on Thursday. Tomljanovic wore down Alize Cornet in an electrifying 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 contest on Monday.
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2022-07-05T07:00:00.0000000Z
2022-07-05T07:00:00.0000000Z
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