'F***ing none': Nick Kyrgios explodes at rival in Indian Wells drama
Nick Kyrgios couldn't help but indulge in a little bit of catharsis after a storming victory over Norwegian rival and world No.8 Casper Ruud at Indian Wells.
The mercurial Aussie was memorably defaulted out of the Italian Open in 2019 the previous and only time he squared off against Ruud, with Kyrgios petulantly tossing a chair onto the court in a controversial display.
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There was no repeat of the fireworks in Italy from several years ago, although the fact it was the first time he had faced Ruud since the infamous match was clearly not lost on Kyrgios.
The paid had feuded in the wake of Kyrgios' default, with Ruud labelling him an 'idiot' and Kyrgios accusing Ruud of 'running your mouth' and saying he would rather watch paint dry than watch him play tennis.
Switched on from the get-go, it was clear this watch a match Kyrgios was determined to win.
Breaking Ruud early in both sets, Kyrgios was a study in focus as he has been all tournament.
The 26-year-old has yet to drop a set and conceded only 12 points on serve against Ruud.
"I wanna keep my head down... I wanna do big things," Kyrgios said in his on-court interview.
Minutes earlier, Kyrgios had looked down the barrel of a broadcast camera and referenced the pair's feud from three years ago after shaking hands with Ruud.
“I hear no talking now. None. F***ing none. Nothing," Kyrgios said into the camera.
In Nick Kyrgios vs. Casper Ruud, nobody threw a chair, nobody compared anyone to watching paint dry, and no-one responded ‘your Mum’ to anything. Sorry @CWhitakerSport, maybe next time.
Kyrgios won 6-4, 6-4. Efficiently, professionally, impressively.
Now faces Sinner.— The Tennis Podcast (@TennisPodcast) March 15, 2022
Nick Kyrgios plays another incredible match to easily beat #8 Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 in 76 minutes and reach the last 16 in Indian Wells. Kyrgios lost 10 (!) serve points all match.
His first top 10 win since beating Tsitsipas in the 2020 ATP Cup.
Next? #10 Jannik Sinner. pic.twitter.com/13MWTzygHi— José Morgado (@josemorgado) March 15, 2022
The impressive win set up a fourth-round showdown with another of the tour's young guns, Italian 10th seed Jannik Sinner.
Despite needing a wildcard entry and languishing at No.132 in the world after playing only sparingly the past two years during the pandemic, Kyrgios will fancy his chances against Sinner.
His win over Ruud was the Canberran's first top-10 scalp in more than three years.
Another upset win could earn Australia's two-time grand slam quarter-finalist a last-eight shot at Rafael Nadal, who remains unbeaten in 2022 after powering past Dan Evans in straight sets in his third-round match.
Strong showing at Indian Wells for Aussie tennis stars
It isn't just Kyrgios who has discovered a decent vein of form at Indian Wells, with the likes of Alex De Minaur and Daria Saville also making progress.
De Minaur advanced to the fourth round thanks to a convincing straight sets win over American Tommy Paul.
Earlier, De Minaur had to overcome fellow Aussie John Millman to move on in the draw, continuing his impressive season after a strong performance at the Australian Open.
Saville's giant-killing run in Indian Wells has continued with victory over Elise Mertens propelling her into the round of 16 at the WTA 1000 event for the first time.
Qualifier Saville grinded past 20th-seeded Mertens 6-3 4-6 6-2 in 2 hours and 55 minutes to back up her victory over ninth seed Ons Jabeur in the previous round, which was her first top-10 win since 2018.
The second-straight upset continues a superb comeback season for former world no.20 Saville, who has battled an achilles injury in recent seasons that eventually required surgery.
While the Russia-born Australian started 2022 off slowly, she has found form on her travels and last month in Mexico defeated Emma Raducanu in the longest match of the WTA season when the top seed retired after a more than three-hour battle.
Saville told the WTA website a more defensive approach, which better suits her game, has changed her fortunes.
"I was trying to hold the baseline and I don't like that. I'm way too rushed, I don't have time," she said.
"The reason why we did that was because of my achilles. We thought if I'm more aggressive; hopefully, I'll run less, but it just doesn't work for me. I didn't like it."
Starting the tournament ranked 409th, Saville will soar up the rankings regardless of the outcome of her meeting with world No.6 Maria Sakkari — who she defeated in their only previous encounter at a Challenger event in San Antonio, Texas, in 2016.
With AAP
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