Nick Kyrgios stuns Andreas Seppi to advance to Australian Open quarterfinals
MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia has a new sporting super hero, and his name is Nick Kyrgios.
The 19-year-old pulled off an epic upset on Sunday night at the Australian Open, where he came from two sets down against Italian Andreas Seppi in front of an electric crowd inside Hisense Arena. Here's how it all happened.
Scoreline: Nick Kyrgios (AUS) def. Andreas Seppi (ITA) 5-7, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5), 8-6
Kyrgios was meant to play Roger Federer in the fourth round, but it was the journeyman Seppi who took down the 17-time major champion Friday afternoon. Kyrgios saved a match point en route to this victory, securing his stature as this tournament's breakout star.
What it means: Kyrgios will play in his second-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal in his seventh major tournament appearance. In June of last year, he shocked Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of Wimbledon before falling to Milos Raonic. Kyrgios played on Hisense Arena, the tournament's No. 3 court that is open to the public, which was jam-packed for much of the afternoon, as a faithful Australian public patiently awaited the match's early-evening start time. Kyrgios becomes the first Australian man to reach the quarterfinals since Lleyton Hewitt did so in 2005, when he was runner-up.
How it happened: Seppi had pulled off the shock of the tournament with his victory over Federer, but it was Kyrgios who conjured up the jaw-dropping performance in this match, the world No. 53 saving a match point at 5-6 serving in the fourth set. Earlier, however, it had appeared to be the Italian who would continue his role as villain in this tournament, jumping to a two-sets-to-love lead and causing his young opponent to grow increasingly frustrated.
But Kyrgios, after winning the third set, slowly began chipping away. He saved the match point in the 12th game of the fourth before jumping to a 4-1 lead, break in hand in the fifth. It wasn't over, however, as Kyrgios was broken back and then the two engaged in what turned out to be a classic decider, extending nearly an hour. Kyrgios came through on a Seppi ball wide, falling to the ground as it was ruled out.
Key stat: The stats were dead even, but Kyrgios came out on top in total points won, 184-181, indicating just how close this match was. The Australian served 25 aces and hit 66 winners overall.
What he said: "This feels so good," Kyrgios said on court after the win. "He had a lot of confidence beating Roger and broke me at critical times. I drew on my comeback from Wimbledon and knew that I had the confidence to do that. I honestly didn't believe I was going to come back and win that match. This is incredible."
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