Kyrgios Powers Past Simon, Into Third Round
Nick Kyrgios belted his way past Gilles Simon 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the third round of the Australian Open on Thursday night.
Kyrgios was up a break and serving at 4-3 in the third set. But the French veteran broke Kyrgios twice to force a fourth set as the top-seeded Aussie in the men's singles draw looked increasingly irritated.
Kyrgios, however, regrouped in the 11th game of the fourth, returning to his aggressive ways to break Simon and enliven the packed Melbourne Arena, Kyrgios' favourite place to play at Melbourne Park.
“It's epic. You guys are awesome. That's why I usually request playing on here as long as I can. It's such a home feel. You guys really get behind me. I love it,” Kyrgios said. “I definitely lost my way a little. He's a tough competitor. He knows how to win matches... I could have gone to a very dark place in the fourth set but I somehow put it away.”
The 24-year-old is through to the round of 32 at his home Grand Slam for the fourth time. He is looking to advance to the quarter-finals in Melbourne for the second time. Kyrgios has reached two Grand Slam quarter-finals – 2015 Australian Open and 2014 Wimbledon.
The 6'4” right-hander looks in a second-week kind of mood this fortnight. Despite his third-set hiccup, he has wasted minimal energy in his first two matches and has been able to compartmentalise his feelings about those affected by the Australian bushfires. Kyrgios' hometown of Canberra, the Australian capital, has been among the most-affected cities.
“I'm just playing a lot more than myself,” Kyrgios said on Tuesday.
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He will next meet 16th seed Karen Khachanov of Russia or Swede Mikael Ymer, who ended his 2019 season at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan. Khachanov leads their ATP Head2Head series 1-0, a three-set win last year at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. Kyrgios and Ymer have never played.
Kyrgios broke in the opening games of the first two sets and raced through his service games. He faced his first break point at 3-2, 30/40 in the third set but erased it. His next service game, however, Simon broke as Kyrgios began chatting more to himself and his box.
But in the fourth set, the Melbourne Arena crowd rallied behind Kyrgios even more so, and as they waited to erupt, Kyrgios, on a second serve, delivered his 28th ace on match point.
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