Nick Kyrgios' incredible gesture for fans after Indian Wells walkover

Nick Kyrgios has endeared himself to tennis fans in the United States with a brilliant gesture after a shock walkover passage into the Indian Wells quarter-finals.

The flamboyant Aussie was supposed to play Italian gun Jannik Sinner for a spot in the final eight of the Californian hardcourt event.

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However, Sinner was forced to withdraw from the showdown, handing Kyrgios a free passage into the quarter-finals.

Instead of using the shock development as an opportunity to get some rest, relaxation or extra practice in, Kyrgios decided to give fans left disappointed by the cancellation of the match, something to entertain them.

To the amazement of tennis fans at Indian Wells, the Aussie proceeded to hold an impromptu Q&A with crowd members inside the stadium.

For Kyrgios - currently ranked 132nd in the world - it is the sixth Masters level quarter-final of his career and his first since Cincinnati in 2017.

He is playing is first tournament since capturing the 2022 Australian Open Men's doubles title in January with fellow Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis.

The mercurial Australian has yet to drop a set this week, and toppled eighth-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 in the third round.

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Despite his best classy moment with the fans, however, the Aussie's quarter-final clash is against arguably the biggest crowd favourite in the men's draw - Rafael Nadal.

Nadal needed all he had to fend off Reilly Opelka, and doesn't expect an easier ride from longtime rival Kyrgios.

The 35-year-old Spaniard, who won a record-setting 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January and lifted the trophy in Acapulco last month, has now stretched his career-best season start to 18-0.

Kyrgios and Nadal have endured a sometimes bitter relationship on court, with the Spaniard accusing the Aussie of "lacking respect" after Kyrgios won a stormy encounter in Mexico in 2019.

Kyrgios later responded by claiming the Spanish world number two was "super-salty".

They met again at Wimbledon that year, when Nadal won but fumed after the Australian appeared to spear a ball directly at him.

In all they've met eight times, with Nadal coming out on top in five of those encounters.

"Nick is difficult in any conditions, no?" Nadal said after booking the last-eight match-up with a 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/5) victory over Opelka.

"When he's playing well and when he's excited and motivated he's one of the toughest opponents without a doubt."

Nadal battled two-plus hours to get past Opelka, the towering 2.11m self-described "servebot" who peppered the 21-time Grand Slam champion with serves routinely topping 140mph.

with agencies

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