Nick Kyrgios has the weapons to overcome the "super physical" Dominic Thiem at the Australian Open on Friday.
The eccentric Australian continued to excite at Melbourne Park with a five-set win over Ugo Humbert in the second round, saving two match points.
Kyrgios, 25, is into the third round of a grand slam for the 15th time in his career, but it has been a difficult hurdle for him to cross. He is 6-8 in the third round of majors, although three of those wins – and just one loss – have come at the Australian Open.
While he has all the weapons, Kyrgios faces third seed Thiem, the US Open champion and last year's runner-up in Melbourne.
"He's probably one of the most physical guys on tour. He's an extremely good player. I have actually seen him progress. He's a bit older than I am. I actually saw him in juniors and then I saw him struggle for a couple years, futures, challies, and then to see him get to the top of the game. It's been actually pretty cool to see him develop and finally find what he needs to do to win matches," Kyrgios said about Thiem after overcoming Humbert.
"He trains like an absolute animal. He's consistent every day. And I actually have a lot of respect for him. I think his style of tennis is not easy to play. He's super physical, but I'm not even thinking about it. Like, I'm just hurting thinking about playing him right now."
He added: "Whatever happens against Thiem happens. I'm going to go out there, serve, play with instinct, and if it's enough, it's enough. If it isn't, I'm all right with that."
With much of the talk at the year's first major focused on the fast courts, Kyrgios' serve will be vital.
The Australian has seen 50 per cent of his first serves in the opening two rounds go unreturned, with 44 aces. He has also served at 72 per cent and won 81 per cent of the points when his first serve has gone in.
Thiem has recorded wins over Mikhail Kukushkin and Dominik Koepfer to begin the tournament, winning 13 of 27 return games. Kyrgios has won eight of 42 return games.
Kyrgios has been among the men more willing to serve and volley to begin the event, playing 26 such points and winning 16. He has also won 39 of 55 net points, while Thiem is an impressive 31 of 36.
Novak Djokovic is among those who have talked about the fast courts at Melbourne Park this year, and the world number one said that would suit the big servers. Thiem said he had never played on courts as fast at a grand slam so far in his career.
"I prefer last year's courts, if I could choose. It's pretty fast, as I said the days before. It's probably one of the fastest grand slam tournaments I've played so far," he said. "Well, we have to get used to it, yes. But if I have to choose, I would choose the last year's condition."
The opportunity is there for the big-hitting Kyrgios, but he will need to be at his best.
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.
Rafael Nadal set to make return to clay at Barcelona Open
Rafael Nadal will make his eagerly-anticipated return to clay on Tuesday after he confirmed his participation in the Barcelona Open and provided a further hint that 2024 will be his last on tour.
Nadal has been ravaged by injuries in recent years and announced last May his intention to retire at the conclusion of this season.
The farewell tour for the 22-time grand-slam champion has failed to go to plan though, after he had to pull out of the Australian Open in January due to a hip injury and subsequently missed ATP 1000 events in Indian Wells and Monte Carlo.
However, the 37-year-old will play at the Barcelona Open, where there is a court named after him, on Tuesday against Italian youngster Flavio Cobolli, which will represent his first professional tie on clay since his 2022 Roland Garros triumph.
“No, I can’t give you an injury update because the list is long and I just want to think about what can happen,” Nadal told a press conference in English.
“I can only tell you that today I feel myself, enough good to be on court tomorrow and that for me is so important.
“It means a lot to me to be able to play one more time here in Barcelona, a place that I have amazing success and a lot of unforgettable memories.
“So, I am just trying to enjoy every moment and I am excited about being on court in a professional tournament again, especially here at home.”
Nadal has won this tournament a record 12 times but has only managed three competitive matches in 2024.
He did recently take part in an exhibition with compatriot Carlos Alcaraz, who will miss this week’s ATP 500 event due to a forearm injury.
Current world number 644 Nadal has battled with his fitness for several years and was on crutches a day after his last major victory at the French Open in 2022, which was followed by injury-hit appearances at Wimbledon and the US Open before he barely featured last year.
This appearance in Barcelona does at least raise the prospect that he could participate at Roland Garros next month and later this year when it hosts the tennis tournament for the Paris Olympics.
Asked if he could envisage such a painful journey, Nadal conceded: “Well, no but the day after Roland Garros I have been on crutches so that’s the truth.
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“In 2022 I cannot and I was not able to think about how long it would take me to be back playing in a clay-court tournament because at the time I was enjoying the title of Roland Garros and trying to be ready for the next event.
“That is what I have been doing my whole life. To think about what is going on day-by-day and just try to adapt to the situation, try to be able to improve under any circumstances to be a better player. That is what I did all my life and it worked well.
“Now I am in a different perspective of my tennis career, a different moment and I am trying to enjoy every moment.
“I was not able to spend a lot of days on tour over the last two years, so I just want to enjoy every day I am able to play with the guys on a professional level. That means a lot for me.”
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