On Thursday evening, twenty-seven-year-old Nick Kyrgios extended his incredible run, reaching the quarterfinals of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers with princely ease.
On Rogers Court at IGA Stadium, he disposed of fellow Aussie Alex de Minaur (6-2, 6-3), securing his 15th win in 16 matches and maintaining his perfect record on North American hard courts.
It took Kyrgios only 63 minutes to liquidate his tough rival who wasn’t tough enough to resist Kyrgios’ creativity, unparalleled serve and originality.
The match was moved to Rogers Court due to delays on Centre Court, but the winner didn’t seem to be fazed by the circumstances.
“These things happen, and I understand,” he said after the match.
It’s no secret that the players love Rogers Court. Friendlier than Centre Court and just as magical, it hosted a raucous crowd that had come out to cheer on their beloved Nick Kyrgios.
His only moment of doubt came at 5-2 in the second set, when he gave de Minaur the chance to break. But he never lost his composure, kept fighting and closed things out in style.
At noon on Friday, he’ll be on the big stage to take on Hubert Hurkacz (8) of Poland, who’ll have to deploy his entire arsenal if he wants to have any chance of holding off the uber-talented Australian.
Evans overwhelms Fritz again
One week after his win in Washington, Daniel Evans of Great Britain made Taylor Fritz relive his recent nightmare.
Evans managed to close out the tough match in three sets (7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-5) and advance to the quarters. In the first set, Fritz got ahead 4-1, but the combative Briton overcame the deficit to take the lead. The tenth seed took control of the second but couldn’t muster up the energy to keep the momentum going.
