Ace-high Kyrgios stuns Djokovic in first meeting
MEXICAN OPEN Australian beats world No 2 Serb to reach semis
ACAPULCO: Australia’s Nick Kyrgios used a barrage of 25 aces to defeat top-seeded Novak Djokovic 7-6 (9), 7-5 early Friday morning and reach the semifinals of the Mexican Open.
Kyrgios blasted 16 aces in the first set to beat Djokovic in his first match against the secondbest player in the world and will play against American Sam Querrey in one of the semifinals.
Spaniard Rafael Nadal will face off against Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the other.
“It’s a big win,” Kyrgios said. “I was a little bit nervous because I’m sure the crowd was rooting for Novak. He’s one of the greatest players of all time, but I’m playing with confidence. My serve is the best part of my game, and I had one of my best serving matches tonight.”
Kyrgios, the world’s 17thranked player, also defeated Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal the first time he played against them. The 21-year-old Australian beat Nadal in Wimbledon (2014) and Federer in Madrid (2015).
Djokovic was playing in his first tournament since a shocking loss in the second round of the Australian Open.
Now Kyrgios could face Nadal in the final if he manages to get past an inspired Querrey, who’s having a great week in Mexico.
Querrey reached the semifinals in Acapulco for the second year in a row. In 2016, he lost to Thiem, but this time around, the American got the win in just 66 minutes a day after taking down Belgian David Goffin, 11th in the ATP rankings.
Nadal ran his Mexican Open winning streak to 13 matches, beating Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6 (2), 6-3. He will face thirdseeded Cilic. Cilic advanced when American Steve Johnson withdrew with an injury. NEW DELHI: Kidambi Srikanth played out of his skin before going down against Olympic champion Chen Long of China in the pre-quarterfinals, drawing curtains on India’s campaign at the German Open Grand Prix Gold in Mülheim an der Ruhr. The 12th seeded Indian lost 19-21 20-22 in a 47-minute men’s singles match.
Srikanth bows out of German Open