Kyrgios survives injury scare
Nick Kyrgios has overcome an inspired Matthew Ebden and a troublesome knee to reach the Brisbane International quarter-finals for the first time.
The No.3 seed looked to be struggling against Ebden’s consistency early before raising his level to complete a tenacious 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 win over the Australian No.2 at Pat Rafter Arena yesterday.
Kygrios’ campaign got off to a worrying start with the world No.21 seemingly hampered by a leg injury midway through the first set.
“I hurt it a couple of days ago,” Kryrgios said.
“It was good enough to still play and play a tough competitor like Matt.
“I was a bit rusty in the first match of the year. I’m happy to just get through.”
The 23-year-old had complained of “sharp pain” behind his knee and twice called a medical timeout in the first set.
“As soon as I straighten it, it’s a nightmare,” Kyrgios told the trainer at one point.
He lost the first set 7-6 and received more treatment before the second set but battled on gamely to win it in a tiebreaker and level the match.
Australia’s top-ranked man then upped the tempo in the third set, breaking Ebden early before going on to set up a clash against former finalist Alexandr Dolgopolov tomorrow for a place in Saturday’s Brisbane International semi-finals.
Dolgopolov breezed through to the quarter-finals for the third time with a 6-1 6-2 dismissal of Argentine Horacio Zeballos.
In the women’s draw, No.3 seed Elina Svitolina moved into the quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-1 second-round win over Croatia’s Ana Konjuh and Belarus qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich continued her winning run, beating Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit 6-1 6-7 (7-2) 6-3.