Rafa sails through, Kyrgios books Dimitrov showdown

There were impressive victories for Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios at the Australian Open on Friday.

Published : Jan 19, 2018 19:43 IST

Nick Kyrgios was relieved to get through what he termed a ‘tough match’.
Nick Kyrgios was relieved to get through what he termed a ‘tough match’.
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Nick Kyrgios was relieved to get through what he termed a ‘tough match’.

Rafael Nadal lived up to expectation by claiming a straight-sets victory over Damir Dzumhur on Friday to maintain his perfect record at the Australian Open.

The world number one is yet to drop a set in Melbourne and booked himself a fourth-round clash with Diego Schwartzman thanks to his latest win.

Nick Kyrgios and Grigor Dimitrov will meet in what will be one of the most anticipated matches of the next round, following wins for the pair over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andrey Rublev respectively.

Sixth seed Marin Cilic dispatched Ryan Harrison in straight sets and will meet Pablo Carreno Busta next, while there were also wins for Kyle Edmund and Andreas Seppi as the last 16 started to take shape.

 

RAFA RUNS AWAY WITH IT

Nadal's blemish-free week was never under threat against world number 30 Dzumhur, who showed some fight in the second set but was no match for his opponent.

The 2009 champion came away with a 6-1 6-3 6-1 victory and appears to be hitting top form at the perfect time to challenge for his second Australian title.

"When you win 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 in the third round, it's always a great result," he said. 

"Without playing well, it's impossible to have these kind of results. I am doing the right things. Let's see how far I can go."

 

KYRGIOS KICKS ON

Kyrgios earned a momentous win in his own career as he claimed a four-set victory over childhood hero Tsonga - a man whose autograph he chased as a 12-year-old.

The home favourite is fourth favourite for the tournament behind Roger Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic, but his clash with Dimitrov - fifth in the betting - has the potential to be a classic.

Discussing his triumph over Tsonga, Kyrgios said: "To get a win against him is a dream come true."

 

SEPPI WINS KARLOVIC EPIC

Ivo Karlovic has spent a lot of time on court this week, but his tournament came to an end at the hands of Andreas Seppi.

The Croatian won 12-10 against Yuichi Sugita in the fifth set of their second-round match and his clash with Seppi turned into another epic, with three of the first four sets going to a tie-break before the decider finished 9-7 in the Italian's favour.

Seppi's reward for seeing off veteran Karlovic is a fourth-round clash with Kyle Edmund.

 

WHERE THERE'S A WILL THERE'S... ANOTHER WILL

After Will Ferrell's appearance on Rod Laver Arena to interview Roger Federer in character as Ron Burgundy this week, Will Smith brought Hollywood to Melbourne Park once more on Friday.

The Fresh Prince actor was in the stands for Kyrgios' triumph over Tsonga and gave the Australian a big thumbs up following the match.

Kyrgios had previously identified Smith as the actor he would like to play the lead role in a potential future film about his own life.

 

 

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