Given the two protagonists involved, shenanigans were expected in Tuesday’s showdown between Nick Kyrgios at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Sure enough, Kyrgios came out in nothing short of tank-mode two days after capturing his first career ATP title in Marseille. For at least an hour it looked like the 20-year-old Australian had no interest being in Dubai. Klizan crushed his opponent with a steady diet of drop-shots, but soon the drop-shots started failing. Klizan lost his way, failed to finish the job in straight sets, and let Kyrgios back in the match.
Given new life, Kyrgios raised his energy level in the third and ultimately prevailed 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Kyrgios’ rise coincided with Klizan’s demise. The eighth-seeded Slovak saved his “best” for last, as he decided to hit a one-handed forehand with his off hand (the right one) down match point with Kyrgios serving at 5-2.
Next up for Kyrgios is a second-round date with Mikhail Kukushkin on Wednesday.
[polldaddy poll=9321640]
surreal scenes
hahaha Kleeze. You never know what’s coming – I like it. Was just mad for a few minutes about beating LaMonf in the Rotterdam final.
I’m taking Kyrgios in three but if he focuses more he will in straights most likely. Either way I hope he gets the job done and doesn’t mess around next time and realizes he could do really well here in Dubai. Allez Nick!!
It’s so telling how much he tried to tank that match in the initial set. Klizan just had a HORRIBLE second half of that match and like you said Kyrgios just thought, “Oh well…if he’s gonna hand me this win I’ll take it…” Got a feeling though Kukushkin will make it just as interesting and may lose just cuz of the skill set differential. Nevertheless, after watching that first round it’s safe to say Kyrgios is not a safe pick…He looks like he wants to hurry and get to Davis Cup…
NK cruises. Did he play better today?
Kyrgios-Berdych rematch
Yesss. Can’t wait for that one. C’mon Nick!! I hope he can do what he did last week.
If he keeps his head on straight, he will.
#BigIf
I’d never bet more than the minimal amount on Kyrgios. True flake.