By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Nick Kyrgios saved a set point in the opener outdueling Wawrinka, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (2), to reach the Madrid Open round of 16 and raise his tie break record to 7-1 this season.
Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open
The Magic Box buzzed with the intensity of a boxing ring when sometime sparring partners Stan Wawrinka and Nick Kyrgios squared off today.
Rather than dwelling on bad blood, both men delivered heavy baseline blows.
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Serving with knockout intent, Kyrgios saved a set point in the opener outdueling Wawrinka, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (2), to reach the Madrid Open round of 16.
The pair both served with command: Wawrinka rapped 11 aces and dropped just five points on his first serve, while Kyrgios served 70 percent with seven aces.
Turning up the heat on serve considerably in the second set, Kyrgios served 80 percent and won 29 of 31 points played on his serve in the second set to prevail in a match devoid of a single service break.
The 21st-ranked Aussie will play either Pablo Cuevas or one of his tennis heroes, 13th-seeded Gael Monfils, for a quarterfinal spot.
Kyrgios has been a tremendous tie break player this season and extended his dominance in the extra session raising his tie break record to 7-1 this season.
Last August, Kyrgios fired the sledge that reverberated around the world muttering a crude comment about Donna Vekic, Wawrinka's girlfriend, during their testy Rogers Cup clash. Wawrinka wound up retiring from that match with a back injury then reportedly had to be restrained from going after Kyrgios in the locker room after hearing what the Aussie said.
They met again in the Dubai semifinals last February, but the rematch never really caught fire. Wawrinka led 6-4, 3-0 when Kyrgios, compromised by a creaky back and cranky hip, retired.
The sometime feuding foes both came out slugging with Vekic watching from Wawrinka's support box. Early on, Wawrinka had more opportunities. The fourth-seeded Swiss did not face a break point in the first set.
The reigning Roland Garros champion threatened Kyrgios' serve midway through the first set, but Kyrgios erased all four break points with authoritative serving.
An ace wide followed by another biting serve erased the third and fourth break points as Kyrgios came through a challenging game holding for 4-all.
Wawrinka opened the tie break with an error to donate the mini break. Kyrgios hit a tremendous stretch forehand return to set up a drop shot winner extending the lead to 4-1.
Of course, this wouldn't be a Kyrgios match without some drama. Serving at 4-2, he hammered an aggressive second serve down the T that was called wide. Chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani inspected the mark and confirmed the call, but Kyrgios was not satisfied.
"There's no space," he told the chair umpire, who was not swayed by the argument. Kyrgios got back to business.
Staring down set point at 5-6, Wawrinka spent much of the point scrambling behind the baseline on the defense. Until he obliterated a backhand winner down the line to level. Kyrgios staved off set point at 6-7 with a surprise second serve-and-volley.
A destructive serve down the T brought another set point. Kyrgios closed bellowing "come on!" when Wawrinka missed his signature shot, the one-handed backhand down the line.
Kyrgios slammed down successive love holds stretching his second-set lead to 4-3. By then, the explosive Aussie had won 16 of 17 points on his serve and was serving 88 percent in the set.
Fortunate favored the 21-year-old world No. 21 in the second-set tie break. Wawrinka was in control of a baseline rally and was near mid-court when a Kyrgios reply skipped off the service line prompting a shank from the Swiss.
The line-aided point preceded a net-cord winner from Kyrgios, who held up his hands in apology seizing a 5-2 lead.
Showing athletic flexibility, a sliding Kyrgios stabbed back a squash shot, Wawrinka netted a low volley and Kyrgios had four match points. He sealed the one hour, 45-minute on a Wawrinka error, leveling their head-to-head series at 2-2.
The pair shared a respectful handshake with Kyrgios saying "good match" as he patted Wawrinka on the back.
Conquering the reigning Roland Garros champion, Kyrgios raised his record to 8-13 vs. Top 10 opponents playing the type of big-strike tennis that will make him dangerous in Paris.
Former finalist Tomas Berdych dismissed qualifier Denis Istomin, 6-3, 6-3, in 69 minutes.
The eighth-seeded Czech will face ninth-seeded David Ferrer or American qualifier Denis Kudla in the round of 16.
In an all-Spanish clash, 2014 Madrid semifinalist Roberto Bautista Agut defeated Feliciano Lopez, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5.
The 15th-seeded Spaniard will take on either world No. 1 Novak Djokovic or Borna Coric for a place in the last eight. Djokovic is 3-0 lifetime against Bautista Agut, including a four-set win in the 2015 US Open round of 16.
"If I face Djokovic it's going to be a tough match," Bautista Agut said. "I'll try to control the game, play freely. You know, I'm going to play Djokovic in the third round. I have to face that. It's better than if you have to play against the first seeded player, but that's the way it is."