Nick Kyrgios is through to the quarter-final after a terrific 7-6 (11-13) 3-6 6-3 6-2 win over world number one and reigning US Open champion Daniil Medvedev.
It was a match that had all of the usual Kyrgios antics as he seemed to lose his cool during the first set tiebreaker, slamming his racket multiple times while repeatedly yelling at members of his entourage.
But he was able to work his way through it, saving three set points, before sealing the opening frame in 64 minutes with his fourth set point. Kyrgios relied on his dominant serve and limiting his errors, with just one double fault and 11 unforced errors with 21 winners.
The momentum from winning the set kept Kyrgios from spiralling mentally, but he became sloppy in the second, committing four double faults with only three aces, and he had 12 unforced errors with seven winners. It was the only set he had more than one double fault and more unforced errors than winners.
Zverev's ability to return in the second set was the difference, lifting his return point success rate from 33 per cent in the opener to 48 per cent to break twice and even up the match.
It had all the makings of a Kyrgios meltdown, but where he would usually begin to unravel and force desperate power shots to shorten points, he instead settled into the battle and refocused on getting into the net.
After only going to the net five times in the second set, he tripled that in the third, winning nine-of-15 attempts while not allowing a single break point opportunity. Kyrgios only created one break point chance for himself, and he took it with both hands to go up two sets to one.
In the fourth, Kyrgios was able to break again with his first opportunity early on, and with his serve switched on and firing he would only allow one chance for Zverev to break back, but he snuffed it out before going on to secure a second break and the victory.
Of their five career meetings, Kyrgios has now won four, and he will now get the benefit of the number one seed's path through the tournament. Next up, he will face 27th seed Karen Khachanov in the quarter-final as he searches for his first career grand slam title.
Data Slam: Kyrgios accomplishes feat not seen since 1987
Kyrgios is the first player since 1987 to defeat the world number one twice in the same year, with Australian compatriot Pat Cash the last to do it.
It is also the first time an Australian has defeated a world number one in a grand slam since Kyrgios himself, back in 2014 as a 19-year-old against Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon.
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Kyrgios – 21/7
Medvedev – 22/2
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Kyrgios – 53/38
Medvedev – 49/19
BREAK POINTS WON
Kyrgios – 5/7
Medvedev – 3/8
Rafael Nadal eases past Flavio Cobolli on return to action in Barcelona
Rafael Nadal made a triumphant return to the match court with victory over Flavio Cobolli in the first round of the Barcelona Open.
The 37-year-old was playing just his second tournament in 15 months after suffering another injury problem in his hip muscle at his comeback event in Brisbane in January.
Nadal only committed to playing at the tournament he has won 12 times on Monday but there was not much rust on display as he eased to a 6-2 6-3 victory over 21-year-old Italian Cobolli in his first match on clay since he won his 14th French Open title in 2022.
Nadal received a hero’s welcome as he strode out onto the court that bears his name and, although there were a few loose forehands in the early stages, the former world number one was too solid for Cobolli.
Cobolli understandably looked nervous and contributed to the scoreline with far too many errors, but a big factor in that was the pressure being exerted from the other end of the court.
A blip came when Nadal, who is set to retire at some point this season, played a poor game to drop serve for the first time in the third game of the second set but he had already broken Cobolli and quickly restored his advantage.
There were some vintage forehands from Nadal in the final stages and he clinched victory when Cobolli netted a final backhand, thrusting his fist into the air.
The home favourite faces a real test next, though, when he takes on in-form fourth seed Alex De Minaur.
Meanwhile, second seed Andrey Rublev destroyed his racket at the end of a 6-4 7-6 (6) defeat by Brandon Nakashima that continued his poor run of form.
Andy Murray will not have surgery on ankle injury but return date unknown
Andy Murray will not have surgery on an ankle injury and his rehabilitation is progressing enough for him to think about a return to practice again soon.
The 36-year-old ruptured ligaments at last month’s Miami Open but he is now out of his protective boot.
A spokesperson from Murray’s team said the former world number one’s “rehab is going well and he is hoping to start hitting again on court soon” but added that “he doesn’t have a date yet for returning to competition”.
Murray was injured late on in his third-round defeat by Tomas Machac at the Miami Open on March 24.
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After crying out in pain and falling to the floor, he was able to complete the match following on-court treatment but revealed in an Instagram post that he had seriously damaged two ligaments in his left ankle.
The timing was cruel for the three-time grand slam champion, who had won back-to-back matches for the first time this year in Miami.
Murray has said he is unlikely to play beyond this summer as retirement looms ever nearer.
It is unclear if he will be fit for Wimbledon, which gets under way on July 1, while the Olympic Games in Paris – which the two-time gold medallist said he would like to play at – starts on July 26.
Dan Evans’ poor clay-court season continues with defeat to Brandon Nakashima
Dan Evans’ poor clay-court season continued with a third consecutive defeat as he went down in straight sets to Brandon Nakashima in Barcelona.
Evans has endured a difficult 2024 as a whole, suffering a first-round exit at the Australian Open, and has now failed to make the quarter-finals in any of his nine tournaments this year.
After early exits on clay in Marrakesh and Monte Carlo, British number three Evans lost 6-7 (5) 2-6 to Nakashima in the Barcelona Open first round.
The contest lasted two hours and 10 minutes but after a closely-fought first set, where the pair exchanged two breaks each, American youngster Nakashima took control in the second to inflict another loss on world number 49 Evans.
Jack Draper fared better in Munich as he beat Vit Kopriva in three sets to reach the last 16 of the BMW Open and claim his 50th ATP Tour victory in the process.
Draper had lost narrowly to Hubert Hurkacz at the Monte-Carlo Masters last week, but bounced back to claim his first win of the season on clay.
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Sixth seed Draper breezed through the opening set in 28 minutes before he let a 3-1 lead slip in the second as Kopriva of the Czech Republic forced a decider after he decisively broke his opponent in the 12th game of the set.
After the British number two rediscovered his composure, Draper was able to claim two breaks at the start of the third set before he registered another in a 6-1 5-7 6-4 success.
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