Kyrgios takes down idol Tsonga to reach fourth round

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) - Nick Kyrgios toppled his childhood idol JoWilfried Tsonga to bury his Rod Laver Arena hoodoo and reach the fourth round of his home Australian Open yesterday.

Away from his favoured Hisense Arena where he draws energy from the raucous atmosphere, the 17th seed reined supreme in the tiebreaks, downing former finalist Tsonga 7-6(5) 4-6 7-6(6) 7-6(5) on the floodlit centre court.

“I knew it was going to be an incredibly tough match. I was very nervous going out there today,” Kyrgios told reporters after a riveting clash lasting three hours and 17 minutes.

“I knew my best chance was probably to get in a couple breakers... Tiebreaks kind of favour the big server.”

With men’s great Rod Laver and Hollywood actor Will Smith in the terraces, Kyrgios grabbed his first win in front of fans in the posh seats, raising hopes among the locals he might return there for the title match in nine days.

Australia has waited 42 years for a new men’s champion, so expectations will rise again following Kyrgios’s impressive four-set win, a third successive match without a major meltdown for the hotheaded 22-year-old.

As the only native left in the draw, Kyrgios will carry the hopes of a nation into a blockbuster clash against Grigor Dimitrov, another supreme talent desperate to prove his major credentials. FRUSTRATIONS The centre court pressure against the formidable Frenchman was a test of Kyrgios’s emotions and his frustrations did threaten to boil over on occasion.

After being broken in the second set, he returned to his chair fuming and yelled a foul-mouthed lament for playing a match in the doubles tournament on Thursday instead of resting on a day of scorching heat.

Heavy-legged, he lost the set to his childhood hero, who once signed autographs for a 12-year-old Kyrgios during his run to the 2008 final at Melbourne Park.