Kyrgios imitates Federer–both serving and with a three-set win

Nick Kyrgios was in exhibition mode for much of his win over Andy Murray at the Fever-Tree Championships on Tuesday. So why mess with success?

Kyrgios was up to similar tricks on Thursday, and the end result was a another three-set win–this time via a 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-3 decision that earned him a spot in the quarterfinals. The 23-year-old Australian clearly imitated Roger Federer at one point on serve before invoking Gael Monfils’ service motion later in the match.

Yes, @NickKyrgios mimicked Federer's serve in the middle of a match.
Yes, we were entertained. 😂

📺: #TCLive pic.twitter.com/ed7YgvCLTn

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 22, 2018

“I thought it was a pretty high-level match from both players,” Kyrgios assessed. “Obviously I served really, really well. I found my rhythm quite early…. I got a bit tight towards the end of the match, which is normal,” said Kyrgios. “I haven’t played a lot of matches in the past couple of months…. We had been playing for a couple of hours and the level had been pretty good. I got pretty tight. Apart from that, I’m always pretty relaxed and 32 aces helps.”

As for Federer, he also won in three sets. The 36-year-old Swiss survived a surprisingly competitive contest against Benoit Paire at the Gerry Weber Open, even saving two match points en route to a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7) victory.

“It was a tough match,” Federer assured. “I played at a good level actually. I think he served well and had a good mix and a good variety. It was hard to break. So, naturally, it was always going to be tight. And at the end it was just extremely close. So, I’m fortunate to have made it today.”