Nick Kyrgios moped around through four matches against opponents outside the top 30 of the rankings earlier this season. He managed to win two of them but did not look interested or play well on any of those occasions.
Playing in the same tournament as world No. 2 and 17-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal proved to be just what the doctor ordered for Kyrgios. After defeating Andreas Seppi 6-3, 7-5 with an inspired performance in round one of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, the 23-year-old explained it by saying, “I saw Nadal ahead in the draw.”
Kyrgios’ reward did, in fact, turn out to be a sixth career showdown against the Spaniard on Wednesday night in Acapulco. Unsurprisingly, the mercurial Australian rose to the occasion. Kyrgios recovered from a set deficit and from what appeared to be various physical problems to save three match points and stun Nadal 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(6) in a roller-coaster, somewhat bizarre thriller that lasted three hours and three minutes.
Seemingly down and out both mentally and physically early in the second set, Kyrgios later found himself on the brink of defeat once again trailing 6-3 in the third-set tiebreaker. But he saved one match point with a drop-shot, another with a drop-volley off the net cord, and a third when Nadal just barely missed a backhand pass. It ended two points later when the top seed erred on another backhand that sailed just over the baseline.
“It’s massive,” Kyrgios assured. “I’ve struggled a lot this year, so to be able to put in a performance like that against the No. 1 seed is pretty special. The level of tennis I played today is a good test for my body [and] just the way I competed, I left it all out there…. It’s a massive confidence boost for me.”
There was no love lost in that contest and there will be even less lost in the world No. 72’s quarterfinal contest against Stan Wawrinka on Thursday. Their contentious rivalry is led 3-2 by the Swiss.
“It’s going to be incredibly tough,” Kyrgios assessed. “Another multiple Grand Slam champion who knows how to win matches. It looks like he’s coming into form again. His one-handed backhand is one of the best ever in the game (and) he’s a great competitor.“
After downing Nadal, Kyrgios posted that he “can smell the blood when I play this dude.” You can bet he smells it again for Wawrinka.
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