Article Author:
Reuters
Australia's Nick Kyrgios saved five match points in a dramatic second-set tiebreak to beat hometown hope Francis Tiafoe 6-7(5) 7-6(12) 6-2. and advanced to the semi-finals of the City Open. in Washington, D.C.
The Wimbledon runner-up appeared to be preparing to be sent off when Tiafoe created a chance to serve for the win in the second set tiebreaker. , Kyrgios scored a point and also helped frustrate the American who saved his four chances on his own.
The capricious Australian scored his last three points in the tiebreak to force a decisive third set, ending the match with a precise heavy serve around 1:00 a.m. local time. ruled.
"Francis put himself in every position to win the game," Kyrgios said. "At that moment, I didn't think much of it. I was just trying to stay in the match and I survived.
"Then in the third set I felt very fresh physically and served well. I felt like I made it.There were times when I was very lucky, but it was a great match.”
After both men held serve in the first two sets, Kyrgios won the final set. He broke his opponent's delivery twice and converted his first match point when Tiafoe hit a return into the net.
It was his second win for Kyrgios on Friday. Kyrgios had to come back in the morning to finish off a rain-interrupted game against American heavyweight Riley his Opelka.
The 27-year-old took just 14 minutes to secure a 7-6 (1) 6-2 victory against Opelka, and he beat Sweden's Mikael in the final. will play against Emer.
"It wasn't easy, to be honest," added Kyrgios.
"It wasn't ideal playing Reilly this morning in the heat. We came out fast and strong and we got through it.
The impact of Thursday's thunderstorms on scheduling also meant that world No. 8 Andrei Rublev had to play two matches in an ATP 500 event on Friday. did.
Rublev defeated American Maxim Cressy in the morning, where he scored 6-4, 7-6 (8), followed by J.J. Wolf. The Russian will next face Yoshihito Nishioka in the semi-finals. (Reporting by his Sudipto Ganguly of Mumbai; Editing by Kim Coghill)
