A countless number of tennis fans wondered what Nick Kyrgios was doing when he entered the BB&T Atlanta Open, and for a while it looked like Kyrgios–himself–wondered the same thing on Friday afternoon. But the Australian found enough motivation in the midst of brutally hot conditions to scrape past Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3 and earn a place in the semifinals after one hour and 54 minutes.
Kyrgios was just about untouchable on serve from start to finish, so the first set all but ended when he broke Verdasco for a quick 2-1 advantage. The 21-year-old had no trouble consolidating it, as he surrendered only four points in his first five service games.
Verdasco fell into a 15-40 hole at 3-3 in set two, facing what was virtually a double match point. The veteran Spaniard dug out of it to hold before generating his only break opportunity of the entire match with Kyrgios serving at 3-4, 30-40. Kyrgios erased it with an ace and a tiebreaker eventually had to decide things. The second seed neared victory by powering to a 4-2 lead only to see Verdasco steal five of the next six points.
Having squandered the chance to snag a straight-set win, Kyrgios looked mentally and physically lost to begin the decider. But he exchanged words with Verdasco after holding for 1-0 and also began jawing with a fan, incidents that stemmed from Verdasco making Kyrgios wait longer than he wanted to serve at 40-15 in the first game. That seemed to reenergize the world No. 18, who broke immediately for a 2-0 edge.
From there it was all over for Verdasco, who won only five return points in the decider. Kyrgios dropped a mere two points in his last three service games and closed out the match with a hold to 15 at 5-3.
“It was all mental,” Kyrgios said afterward. “It’s hot as anything out here.”
It was not quite as hot for the all-American nightcap between John Isner and Taylor Fritz, which was just fine for Isner because the Atlanta conditions were still perfect for his big-hitting game. The three-time defending champ broke serve three times to defeat the 18-year-old Fritz 7-5, 6-4 in one hour and 22 minutes.
“It was a good win,” Isner said. “I was feeling good; feeling healthy; feeling strong. It’s encouraging me to win matches in straight sets (with) no tiebreakers. I feel like I’m playing well from the back of the court; I’m returning well also.”
He is now 23-3 all time at this event and has never lost prior to the semifinals in seven appearances.
“I’m just comfortable here,” Isner commented. “I enjoy being here. I do love the surface. I have so much support. If I could play every tournament here in Atlanta, I could be No. 1.”
Isner’s lone service blemish against Fritz came at 5-4 in the first set, but it hardly mattered because it was the second in a streak of three straight breaks–two of which went to the top seed. On his second opportunity at 6-5, Isner held at love to close out the opener.
It was all but over for Fritz when he donated serve again at 3-3 in the second. The world No. 60 led 30-0 only to commit four consecutive unforced errors. Isner rolled through his last two service games with ease to set up a semifinal showdown against another 18-year-old American, Reilly Opelka.
Saturday’s first semifinal will see Kyrgios go up against Yoshihito Nishioka, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Horacio Zeballos.
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Isner-Kyrgios final I guess