TENNIS NEWS – DJOKOVIC LOSES TO KYRGIOS IN ACAPULCO, & NADAL WINS BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: on 3rd March 2017
Mexican Tennis Open Tournament
TENNIS NEWS - DJOKOVIC LOSES TO KYRGIOS IN ACAPULCO, & NADAL WINS BY RICKY DIMON

epa05826211 Novak Djokovic of Serbia (bottom) and Nick Kyrgios of Australia (top) during their Mexican Tennis Open Tournament quarter final game in Acapulco, Mexico, 02 March 2017. EPA/JOSE MENDEZ  |

Djokovic goes down to Kyrgios in Acapulco, Nadal keeps rolling into semifinals

 

Novak Djokovic survived a barrage of forehands by Juan Martin Del Potro in the second round. He could not withstand lethal serving by Nick Kyrgios 24 hours later.

 

Djokovic’s brutal draw at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel continued in Thursday’s quarterfinals and he was knocked out by Kyrgios 7-6(9), 7-5 after a dizzying display of aces off the Aussie’s racket. Kyrgios sent 25 serves flying past Djokovic, put in 73 percent of his first deliveries, and won at least 75 percent of the points on both his first and second serves to pull off the upset in one hour and 47 minutes.

 

“It’s what I dreamed of as a little kid, playing on these great venues against some of the greatest players in the world,” the 21-year-old commented. “I never have a problem getting up for these matches.”

 

The stats certainly back up that claim. Kyrgios can always say he beat Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal in his first match again each of those greats.

 

He almost didn’t get a shot at Djokovic. The second-ranked Serb needed two hours and 38 minutes to get past Del Potro 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday night and he did not have quite enough in the tank physically or mentally to deal with a red-hot Kyrgios. Djokovic managed to stay on even terms most of the way, but a disastrous service game at 5-6 in the second set sealed his losing fate.

 

“I wasn’t thinking about winning at any stage,” Kyrgios said. “I knew I had to stay in the moment because I’ve been in situations where matches have gotten away from me, so I had to stay switched on the whole time. I knew that if I just waited and waited, eventually I’d get my chance.”

 

He may get another chance against one of the aforementioned greatest players in the world in Saturday’s final. That will be the case if Kyrgios beats Sam Querrey and Nadal takes care of Marin Cilic in Friday’s semis.

 

The sixth-ranked Spaniard picked up his third straight-set victory of the week when he defeated Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6(3), 6-3 on Thursday night. Nadal recovered from a break down in the opening set and eventually prevailed in one hour and 57 minutes.

 

“It’s true that I played not that well like the days before,” the No. 2 seed admitted. “For moments I was trying to hit the winner too early, sometimes too late. He played well. It was a tough match; I’m happy to be through.”

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.

 

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after winning against Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan in their quarterfinal match of the Mexican Open tennis tournament in Acapulco, Mexico, 02 March 2017. EPA/JOSE MENDEZ

 

Topics: , , , , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.