The young Aussie defeated our champ 6-2, 7-5 in one hour and 20 minutes to move into the last four of the tournament. The mission of the site is to allow tennis journalists and fans freedom and creativity in their writing, personal commentary, and out-of-the-box analysis. Nadal triumphed 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/4) after three hours and 38 minutes on Rod Laver Arena, having survived an admirable fightback from the 23rd-seeded Kyrgios in the fourth set. Roger Federer makes Rafael Nadal revelation: That is going to be sick, Novak Djokovic: Roger Federer makes bold Australian Open prediction, Rafael Nadal lost to Nick Kyrgios this morning, Novak Djokovic fires Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal warning, Roger Federer BLASTED by ex-world No 1 in scathing rant, Rafael Nadal is trying to rediscover his best from following a spout of injuries, Nick Kyrgios hailed his opponent after the victory. And if I don’t play well, I can’t win against a player like Nick.”. Sometimes it's tough to see a couple of things on court. A series of verbal jousts between the two, chiefly Kyrgios's taunting of the "super salty" Spaniard and Nadal's "idiot" Uncle Toni in an explosive podcast, had dominated the build-up. Kyrgios dropped serve in the third game of the fourth and was forced to play catch-up, … Your email address will not be published. Kyrgios's approach shot wasn't great - a low and high slice down the line - but Nadal still played a superb cross-court backhand winner to pass him. “For me, it’s an amazing achievement being back in this position. Kyrgios telegraphed the drop shot and Nadal had oodles of time and space to pass down the line. With the match moving beyond the two-hour mark, Kyrgios's emotions almost got the better of him when he offered a lengthy critique of a line judge's performance to chair umpire James Keothavong. Raging after losing a challenge on his first serve in the eighth game, Kyrgios promptly smashed down an unstoppable, untouchable second serve clocked at 143mph (230kph). That's the way I play. He's a freak. But overall all this summer has been fun.". Upset at Nadal's notorious go-slow antics, Kyrgios demanded French official Damien Dumusois enforced the shot clock on the 18-times grand slam champion. I thinks it’s his first Masters final. Nadal was just wide with a passing shot to make it 6-6, double-faulted to give Kyrgios a chance and sailed a backhand long to end the match after three hours and three minutes. For me, it’s an amazing achievement. Kyrgios serves and volleys and he thought Nadal's backhand was going long, but the cross-court bullet dropped in.