Indian Wells, California. Rafael Nadal defeated Nick Kyrgios 7-6 (0), 5-7, 6-4 on Thursday to advance to the semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Open. rackets.
This year, Nadal improved his record to 19-0, the third-best start to a season since 1990.
“I am happy with this third set, because after the end of the second it was not easy. It was terrible for me,” he said. “But I’m holding it emotionally and mentally, I think I was ready to keep fighting.”
So it was with Kyrgios.
After the post-match handshake, Kyrgios went to his seat and smashed his racket on the court. He bounced up and away, narrowly missing the boy with the ball at the end of the court. Kyrgios left to a mixture of cheers and applause.
“He landed a meter from my foot, slipped and almost hit him,” Kyrgios said. “I am human. That happens. Obviously, it was a very bad jump. I think if I did it a million times it wouldn’t work.”
Nadal was on his side of the court and said he didn’t see Kyrgios throwing his racquet after the match.
“I think Nick had a great attitude throughout the match in terms of fighting spirit and of course he has his own personality, his own character,” Nadal said. “Sometimes he does things that I don’t like, but I respect them because of a different character, different points of view and different education.”
Down 0-6 in the first set tiebreaker, Kyrgios was serving when the platform umpire awarded him a penalty point for indecent treatment of a fan, giving Nadal the set. Kyrgios threw the balls he was holding in his hands and calmly walked to his place.
In the sixth game of the first set, Kyrgios led a 40-love when he served surreptitiously. Nadal stepped forward and hit the winner from the right down the line. Kyrgios responded with a 140 mph ace to put the score up 4-2. He also led 3-1 and 5-3 in the set.
Nadal won three matches in a row and took the lead 6-5 in the first. At the crossing, Kyrgios angrily threw his racket. He gave the bent racket to the boy in the stands.
“I had two points before the first set and I felt like if I won that first set the way I played, I could run away,” Kyrgios said. “So obviously I was upset, but it was a hell of a match.”
At the start of the second set, the referee in the chair scolded a man in the stands who repeatedly yelled, “Nick! Nick!” The referee said, “Ten thousand people want to watch tennis and you’re the only one screaming.” The man fell silent. The umpire later told the crowd not to yell between the first and second innings.
A 3-all draw in the second set and a 40-love serve, Kyrgios delivered a backroom ace to go 4-3 up. They stayed on the pitch until Kyrgios broke Nadal in the 12th game. Nadal’s shot took Kyrgios by surprise and the Aussie released an F-bomb during the point draw. He recovered to return, Nadal sent the ball back and Kyrgios won the set with a jumping left hand.
In the third round with a score of 2-all, Kyrgios entered the fight with a spectator sitting next to actor Ben Stiller. Uninterested in the man’s suggestions on how to play, Kyrgios replied that he did not tell Stiller how to proceed.
“When you are a spectator and watch the pros play tennis, you should just keep quiet,” Kyrgios said. “Like, just sit back and enjoy the show. I think it was a pretty high level match and I’m just asking for some respect.”
The interaction did not stop the Australian. He fought off a break point to take a 3-2 lead with back-to-back aces at 140 mph and 137 mph.
Kyrgios made a double fault on playing time and lost 4-3. Kyrgios took the lead 5-4, but Nadal ended the 2-hour, 46-minute match with a love game. He set up a match point with a 116 mph ace and then hit the winner with a right hand from a short pass.
“He played well for a few points and went out and that’s what he does,” Kyrgios said. “That’s what makes it great.”
Nadal will face the future in the semi-finals. He will play 18-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who beat defending champion and No. 12 seed Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-3.
Alcaraz has reached his first Masters 1000 semi-final, having won 17 of his last 18 matches. Last month, he lost his title at a tournament in Rio de Janeiro.
Reigning women’s champion Paula Badosa advanced to the semi-finals after beating Veronica Kudermetova of Russia 6-3, 6-2. Badosa will then face No. 6 seed Maria Sakkari, who beat Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-4.
In the other semi-final at number 3, Iga Swiatek will face the 2015 champion Simona Halep.