Nick Kyrgios and No.2 seed Andy Murray will fight for a place in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon after the Australian completed a four-set triumph over Feliciano Lopez on Sunday.
The 21-year-old and the No.22 seed were locked at a set apiece before bad light forced their match to be suspended on Saturday.
When the pair returned on a rare sun-drenched Sunday, it was Kyrgios who shone, booking his third straight fourth round ticket at the All England Club with a 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 victory.
“Feliciano can play some really good tennis here. He's made quarter-finals, I think, three times. I knew I had to come out today with lot more energy than I did the first day [after] I got broken first game,” Kyrgios said. “I thought the conditions helped me a little bit more today. It was a little hotter. It was good for me. I got a lot more out of my serve and from the baseline.”
It ensures the No.15 seed will meet Murray for a fifth time on tour. Four times before the result has fallen the way of the Scot, however Kyrgios salvaged some bragging rights with a straight sets win in their most recent outing at this year’s Hopman Cup.
Kyrgios admitted the new title favourite would have added motivation now that top seed Novak Djokovic was removed from his path.
“For sure. I think as soon as Novak loses, you look at Andy and you look at Federer's eyes light up. They think that their chances probably doubled,” Kyrgios said. “I think a lot of people in the locker room now believe they can win it. If the stars align and they're playing well, there's a lot of people that can go get it.”
While trainers are accustomed to being called on to court for anything from a rolled ankle to a shoulder strain, Kyrgios made a more novel request to be treated for a “stuffed nose” at 4-3 in the first set of his match with Lopez on Saturday.
It must have done something in the way of clearing his head as he returned to rip a forehand pass, breaking the Spaniard before clinching the opening set 6-3 with an ace.
With Lopez serving for the second set at 5-3, Kyrgios demonstrated the flair with which he backs himself, ripping back-to-back crosscourt passing shot winners to bring up two break points.
Lopez missed well wide on an off-forehand to surrender the break, but as darkness began to encroach, he would earn his shot at redemption in the tie-break, racing to 5-0 with a pair of unreturnable first serves before levelling the match when Kyrgios netted the backhand pass.
Upon the resumption of play on Sunday, the testier Kyrgios who was persistently venting on his support crew a day prior was nowhere to be seen. Asked what pleased him most about the way he was able to regroup he said: “I think my attitude”.
After bagging the third set, the Australian clocked a huge backhand pass to bring up break point before following up with a heavy forehand to draw the volley error from Lopez for 2-1.
In a tongue-in-cheek exchange with chair umpire Pascal Maria at the change of ends, Kyrgios jokingly questioned an earlier point. “Are you sure about that serve? I didn’t see chalk,” he grinned. “I think HawkEye’s wrong.”
Serving for a place in the fourth round, having seen three match points go begging in the previous game, Kyrgios was handed a time violation warning on match point No.4. Questioned on whether the timing was appropriate after sealing the result, Kyrgios said it was “fair enough”.
Unflappable on Middle Sunday, the Australian knows that same attitude will have to carry over to Monday. There is one Brit’s Wimbledon hopes he wants to dash on Centre.