Kyrgios baffled as he tanks in straight sets Zverev cut down to size as Gulbis scales the heights
ALEXANDER Zverev’s latest bid to scale the Grand Slam mountain has once again floundered in the foothills.
The 21-year-old German No4 seed was knocked out in the third round of Wimbledon yesterday by a superb comeback from Ernests Gulbis, winning 7-6, 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-0.
It was Zverev’s second fiveset match in a row and he came down with an illness on Friday.
‘I was tired from probably having a stomach bug, not eating for over 24 hours,’ he said. ‘I showed in Paris and other matches that I don’t really get tired in five-set matches.’
Gulbis is a former world No10 but his ranking has collapsed to 138.
After splitting the first two sets the Latvian served for the third at 5-3. Zverev broke and won four games in a row.
Another break and the match would surely have been his, but at 1-1 in the fourth set Gulbis saved a break point and never looked back. NICK KYRGIOS never slips quietly into the night but even by his standards this latest Grand Slam loss was followed by a new level of brooding introspection.
The unorthodox Australian cut a distraught and bewildered figure when tryin g to dissect his quick-time Wimbledon exit to Kei Nishikori, and he could provide no answers to questions of how the problem might be fixed.
Kyrgios, the 15th seed who had played well in progressing to the third round, tanked the first set in just 16 minutes and though he shook himself enough to make a fight of the second and third, his demeanour on No1 Court never seemed right.
The umpire had to slow him down in the opener when he took a hurried approach to serving, failing to wait for the ball boys and girls to get back into position, and he was also issued a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct after smashing the ball into the air when conceding set point in the second.
After Nishikori’s 6-1, 7-6, 6-4 victory was confirmed in 1hr 37min, Kyrgios immediately produced his phone to send a text and swapped out of his Wimbledon white trainers into a fluorescent pair to walk off court. It didn’t exactly dispel Marion Bartoli’s accusation that the 23-year-old is undermining himself through childish acts.
Admittedly Nishikori played superbly, and the Japanese player even suggested it was the best match of his career. To claim the second set he dug out an inspired response to what had appeared a venomous Kyrgios winner, landing the ball in the very apex of the court.
Kyrgios also appeared to be shaking his arm in a bid to get some flow going, and by the end the light had faded badly. But he did not try to find an excuse, only critique his own performance.
‘I felt great this morning but as soon as I got out there, I just didn’t feel good,’ said Kyrgios. ‘I don’t know what it was. I mean, he played well. I always find it tough playing him.
‘But I was pretty uptight. A lot of nerves. I just struggled with a lot of things. I just never settled. Obviously getting broken first game didn’t help me. Everything just went south, I guess.
‘I almost couldn’t move. My footwork was terrible. I kind of panicked. I don’t really know how to describe it. Not much was going through my mind. I’m p **** d off, of course. I wanted to do well.’
How to amend it, he was asked. He replied forlornly. ‘I don’t know, man. I don’t know.’
Two long matches on No1 Court meant the duo did not start playing until just before 7.30pm and Nishikori admitted they feared they might have to come back on Monday given the sinking sun.
‘I was talking to Nick, saying there is no way we’re going to finish, so it was a bit of a surprise,’ said the 24th seed.
‘It was dark, I couldn’t really see the ball in the last couple of games.’
Still, Nishikori coped where Kyrgios couldn’t and now faces Ernests Gulbis for a place in the last eight.
‘That was my best game in my life maybe,’ said Nishikori. ‘My serve was doing really well, and my returning.’