ANDY HURRY
Murray blows away ‘pathetic’ Kyrgios
Andy Murray moved a step closer to a second Wimbledon title as he booked his place in the quarter-finals in double quick time — but defeated opponent nick Kyrgios came under fire last night for his lack of effort.
Murray was sublime once again as he beat Kyrgios 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 in just one hour and 43 minutes. the world no 2 has not dropped a set yet this fortnight as he prepares for tomorrow’s quarter-final against French no 12 seed Jo-Wilfried tsonga.
But aussie bad boy Kyrgios — who was tearful later and admitted he had produced a ‘pretty pathetic’ effort — faced a barrage of criticism from three-time Wimbledon champion John Mcenroe for his lack of focus during the fourth-round match on Centre Court. although the first
set was close, Kyrgios’s concentration dipped and he took little time in between points late in the second set and did not even bother to sit down at a change of ends during the third. McEnroe told the BBC: ‘Disappointment would be an understatement in describing Kyrgios’s effort. You’ve got to dig in and play even harder instead of just throwing the second set away, which is what he did. ‘You can’t give away points and games against someone like Murray. You’re not going to make it to the top with that kind of effort. Kyrgios has got to look in the mirror if he wants to become a top player and win Grand Slams. ‘The level that Murray played at was extremely high. You have to appreciate it. It is very hard to play against Murray. That is part of why Kyrgios snapped.’ McEnroe also blasted coachless Kyrgios’s preparations for the match, with the 21-year old seen an hour before the match sitting courtside for Lleyton Hewitt’s doubles match and entertaining his compatriot’s children. McEnroe added: ‘Maybe Lleyton should stop playing doubles so he can knock some sense into Kyrgios. What kind of preparation is that? People prepare in different ways, but come on.’ Kyrgios looked close to tears at his post-match press conference. ‘It was a good first set and the rest was pretty pathetic,’ he said. ‘It felt like a mountain to climb after the first set. When things get tough, I’m just a little bit soft. I’ve said I don’t love the sport but I don’t know what else to do without it.’ When asked what he could do to rediscover his love for the game, Kyrgios said: ‘I don’t know. To be honest, I woke up this morning and played computer games. Is that the greatest preparation? I don’t know but it was fun.’ Aussie rugby legend Michael Lynagh tweeted mid-match: ‘Well done Andy Murray. Give this guy a hiding. He is a disgrace.’ Tsonga booked a last-eight tie against Murray after his fourthround opponent Richard Gasquet quit with back pain after just 24 minutes. Tsonga, 31, broke in the sixth game and was 40-0 up in the next when Gasquet, unable to swing his racket, called it off. Tsonga has lost 12 of 14 meetings against Murray, including all four on grass. Tsonga’s last win came at the Canada Masters in 2014.