Nick Kyrgios fought back and pushed Rafael Nadal all the way, but in the end, the Spaniard suffered his first loss of the year, 6-7 (0-7), 7-5, 4-6.
Kyrgios showed flashes of brilliance in court, using his particular weapon as the Australian 12 aces on Nadal’s seven.
But Kyrgios also came under fire after the match for breaking his racket in frustration, with the racket back off the floor and almost hitting a ballboy.
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Kyrgios, however, was not friendly with a journalist who asked him about the incident after the match.
“That’s a question you’ll ask after a three hour battle against Nadal? That’s what you’re getting here for?” he asked.
“What do you want me to say about it? Of course, was that my intention? No because I threw a racket. Did I originally throw the racket at him somewhere? It landed a meter from my foot and slipped and almost hit him.
“I’m human. Things happen that way. Of course it was a very unfortunate bean. I think if I had done that a million times, it would not have happened that way.
The journalist, defending the question, added: “Well, I saw a child ducks”, but was quickly interrupted by Kyrgios.
“He pushed himself. Duck. He pushed himself. He pushed himself. He pushed himself. Jesus. Well,” he said.
“It was an accident. It was definitely not like Zverev. I did not hit him, fortunately. It was not my intention. So fortunately the child is OK.
“Good question though. Unfortunate things. (Claps). Congratulations, man.”
Friday’s match between Kyrgios and Nadal was initially based on a familiar pattern.
It was vintage Nadal and vintage Kyrgios during the opening hours at Indian Wells and unfortunately for the latter, which means it ended in a collapse just as Kyrgios promised.
The Australian pulled every shot out of his bag with tricks and scrambled Nadal with clean, big shots around the court.
He also mixed an underhand serve and tweener or two as he put on a show.
Kyrgios broke Nadal early and was not broken himself throughout the tournament, but that changed in the 10th game of the match.
From then on, it was all Nadal who kept his composure as Kyrgios then surrendered the tiebreak 0-7 after being punished for a point for an audible ozenity.
Check out the score: Kyrgios shakes at Heckler, referee in all-time blow-up
“Nick is starting to tear up,” one of the commenters on beIN Sports said after yelling earlier, “He’s so happy” on his chest after Nadal earned a point from his serve.
Kyrgios was at one stage just two points away from serving a one-set lead over Nadal, but fell when it mattered, taking out his frustrations on his racket in the process.
It all looked incredibly predictable at the time … but then the game took an unexpected turn.
Kyrgios kept his composure and took advantage of an uncharacteristically bad service play from Nadal to take the second set 7-5.
The Australian had the chance to break Nadal early in the third set and take a 2-0 lead, but could not take advantage of a crucial missed opportunity.
However, Kyrgios made a disastrous appearance.
“Incredible service,” said the commentator for beIN Sports by Kyrgios as he took a 3-2 lead in the third set.
“Crazy quality on serve to finish the game.”
Even though the tension grew in the last set, Kyrgios’ humor was light-hearted, as evidenced in a witty exchange with actor Ben Stiller who was present.
Kyrgios, who had complained about the crowd at various points in the match, told a section of fans to keep quiet and said, “Why are you talking” before pointing to stills.
“Am I telling him how to act? No,” he said.
But eventually, as a person from the masses continued to shout among servants, Kyrgios sighed after complaining several times in the chair-shimmer about it.
KYRGIOS: “How long? If you did something about it, it might not have happened. It happens over and over again. Check the f *** ing score. It’s your job to check that. If you allow it to happen over and over again. happened. Something like that. ”
EMPIRE: “I’ve said it many times.”
KYRGIOS: “When? No, you said it once.”
EMPIRE: “No, I said that, that.”
KYRGIOS: “Well done. Incredible work to control people. It’s between the first and second serve, a guy screaming loudly. It’s ridiculous, brother.
It came as Nadal took a crucial break to take the lead in the third set.
This break would prove the difference in the end, as Kyrgios fell a remarkable victory.
While Kyrgios sometimes lost control on Friday, there is a lot to take away from how far he has gone in the tournament due to the 26-year-old struggling with injuries, mental health and Covid-19 in recent years.
“I know what I’m capable of. I think everyone does too. It’s whether I put my mind to it,” he said after his victory over eighth seed Casper Ruud.
“I feel rejuvenated. I just feel like when I’m here, I’m happy, and I’m just ready for any match to give it my all.
“I played three pretty solid games that were played with a lot of confidence and I won three games in straight sets. Now there are still 16 players playing at the top of their game. This is where you want to be, and I just want to move on, keep my head up and stay positive.
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