Kyrgios Knocks Djokovic Out Of Acapulco; Nadal v Cilic Friday

Nick Kyrgios did it again. The controversial Australian beat Roger Federer in his first try, beat Rafael Nadal in his first try and now has beaten Novak Djokovic in his first try, stunning the top seed at Acapulco last night 7-6(9), 7-5.

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

“I wasn’t thinking about winning at any stage,” said Kyrgios. “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.”

Kyrgios cracked 25 aces and saved the only break point he faced, that in the first set.

Djokovic also was sharp on serve until the very end when he was inexplicably broken at love to give Kyrgios the win.

“Not great,” Djokovic said after the loss during a brief press conference. “He has a big serve, he deserved to win. Congrats. That’s it.”

Djokovic had not lost to a player as young as Kyrgios (21 years, 296 days) since retiring against 18-year-old Filip Krajinovic in the 2010 Belgrade quarterfinals.

The win was Kyrgios’s 11th against a Top 10 player.

“Honestly nothing changes when I play against top 10 players. I play my best when I play them, I’ve got no problem with this matches,” Kyrgios said. “I knew the public was going to cheer for him, he’s a great guy, he has done a lot for this sport and he’s a great player and I’m a controverted player and I’m not going to change who I am and will not stop playing.”

Earlier, Rafael Nadal continued his strong form dismissing qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6(2), 6-3. The 2-time tournament champion is now 13-0 at the event as he heads to a collision with Marin Cilic who earned a walkover from Steve Johnson.

Sam Querrey also scored an upset, knocking out Dominic Thiem. Querrey now meets Kyrgios in the late semifinal today.

FRIDAY ACAPULCO SCHEDULE
CANCHA CENTRAL start 4:00 pm
WTA – [5] C. McHale (USA) vs K. Mladenovic (FRA)

Not Before 6:00pm
ATP – [3] M. Cilic (CRO) vs [2] R. Nadal (ESP)

Not Before 8:00pm
WTA – [1] M. Lucic-Baroni (CRO) vs [7] L. Tsurenko (UKR)

Not Before 10:00 pm
ATP – [6] N. Kyrgios (AUS) vs S. Querrey (USA)