Kyrgios upsets Nadal with straight-sets victory

Nick Kyrgios pulled off a stunning upset, upstaging top seed and incoming world number one Rafael Nadal 6-2 7-5 to reach the ATP Western and Southern Open semi-finals.

Both players were forced to play back-to-back matches in Cincinnati on Friday after rain wreaked havoc on Thursday.

Kyrgios returned to complete a last-16 win over Ivo Karlovic, while Nadal – set to return to the ATP summit on Monday – outclassed Albert Ramos Vinolas in their rearranged fourth-round tie.

But Nadal was below his best against the maligned Australian and four-time ATP Tour winner, who will face David Ferrer in the final four, having never progressed beyond the second round in Cincinnati previously.

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Kyrgios celebrates a winner. Pic: Getty

Nadal and the Cincinnati crowd were stunned from the outset as Kyrgios steamrolled the 15-time grand slam champion with some jaw-dropping tennis.

Kyrgios – locked in with his hard and deep groundstrokes – broke Nadal in the opening game after the latter sent a forehand long.

It was not until the third game that Nadal hit a winner but it meant nothing as Kyrgios claimed the double-break for a 4-0 lead inside 12 minutes after chasing down the Spaniard's attempted drop shot.

Nadal – who tallied 10 unforced errors and won just 11 of his 20 first service points in the opening set – continued to be uncharacteristically sloppy and while he eventually got on the board, he was helpless to stop a Kyrgios onslaught.

There were signs of life from Nadal early in the second set but he was soon on the backfoot as Kyrgios broke serve for a 3-2 lead.

You could hear a pin drop in the stadium when Kyrgios – a two-time ATP 1000 semi-finalist in Miami – consolidated his advantage.

Kyrgios had the chance to close out the match on Nadal's serve but he was thwarted by the veteran, who suffered a last-16 loss at the Rogers Cup last week.

There was a wobble from Kyrgios, double-faulting twice when serving for a spot in the semis as Nadal put the match back on serve in the 10th game, but it was only a wobble as the Aussie posted his 100th ATP victory.