“Everywhere I go I seem to be having full stadiums, the media loves to write that I'm bad for the sport but clearly not” - Nick Kyrgios after his Wimbledon 3R win
Nick Kyrgios beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round of the 2022 Championships on Saturday. The Australian beat the fourth seed 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7) on Court 1 to advance to the fourth round at SW19 for the first time since 2016.
This was the pair’s second meeting during the grass swing this year, with Kyrgios beating Tsitsipas in the second round at Halle last month. The highly-anticipated clash kept the crowd glued to their seats on Court 1, with the contest finishing under a closed roof.
Expected outbursts and rising tempers from both players aside, Kyrgios recovered from losing the first set to take the next two. He then stood strong in the fourth set tie-break to seal the match.
Coming up clutch: @NickKyrgios edition.
Those final three points. Breathtaking.
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Speaking after the match, Kyrgios said that he knew he was the favorite going into the match.
“Hell of an atmosphere and an amazing much. I honestly felt like the favorite coming [into this match]. I played him a couple of weeks ago but I knew that it was going to be a tough match. He’s a hell of a player. I had my own tactics out there and he knows how to play me, he's met me once and obviously, I've had success,” Nick Kyrgios said.
The 27-year-old added that he has enjoyed the support of the crowd throughout the tournament and had a go at the media for constantly speaking about him negatively.
“It's amazing, the support is amazing. Everywhere I go I seem to be having full stadiums. The media loves to write that I'm bad for the sport but clearly not,” Kyrgios remarked.
This was Kyrgios’ first win at a Major against a top-10 opponent since the third round of Wimbledon 2015. The victory also saw him clock the most tour-level wins on grass this season. He now faces World No. 56 Brandon Nakashima, who beat Daniel Elahi Galan in his third-round match.
A win against Nakashima will see Nick Kyrgios reach his third Major quarterfinal and his first since the 2015 Australian Open.
That was something.
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No dearth of drama in Nick Kyrgios’ defeat of Stefanos Tsitsipas
The match had all the pre-anticipated drama and some more. It began at the end of the first set when Nick Kyrgios was unhappy with the linesperson's call. He had a conversation with the chair umpire, which became a theme for the rest of the contest.
In the second set, a frustrated Tsitsipas, while walking towards his chair, jabbed a backhand low into the crowd, barely missing fans. In the third set, Kyrgios hit an underarm serve and while Tsitsipas tried to reach the ball, he hit it with great force into the netting behind the court. The action saw him receive a point penalty.
Are you not entertained?
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The Greek then began aiming his returns into the Australian’s body, while the latter continued his constant chatter between games. Kyrgios took it up a notch when he curtsied to the crowd at 5-3 in the third set following a winning drop shot.
He then went on to make a “money” gesture with his hand in praise of a crisp backhand volley winner that won him the third set.