Spain’s Rafael Nadal shakes hands in the nets after a three-set win over Australia’s Nick Kyrgios in a quarterfinal match on Day 11 of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Rafael Nadal defeated Nick Kyrgios 7-6 (0), 5-7, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Open, which included obscenity, underhand serve, point penalty and smash racket.
Nadal improved to 19-0 this year, the third best start of a season since 1990.
“Happy about that third set because it wasn’t easy after the end of the second. It was terrible for me,” he said on Thursday.
“But I hold onto it emotionally, and mentally, I feel like I was ready to keep fighting.”
So was Kyrgios.
After the post-match handshake, Kyrgios went to his seat and blew his racket on the court. It jumped and jumped, almost hitting a ball boy standing in the back of the court. Kyrgios went for a mix of booze and cheers.
“It landed a meter below my foot and slammed and almost hit him,” Kyrgios said.
“I’m human. Things happen like that. Obviously it was a very unfortunate surge. I think if I had done it a million times it wouldn’t have gone that way.”
Nadal was on his side of the court and said he did not see Kyrgios toss his racket after the match.
“I think Nick had a great attitude throughout the match in terms of fighting spirit, and of course his personality, his character,” Nadal said.
“Sometimes he does things I don’t like, but I respect because of the different character, different types of perspectives, and different types of education.”
Kyrgios, trailing 0-6 in the tiebreaker of the first set, was serving when the chair umpire assessed him a point penalty for an audible obscenity to a fan, giving Nadal the set. Kyrgios dropped his catch and calmly went to his seat.
In the sixth game of the first set, Kyrgios led an underhand serve to a 40-prem. Nadal stepped up and shot a forehand winner down the line. Kyrgios responded with a 140-mph ace to go up 4-2. He also took a 3-1 and 5-3 lead in the set.
Nadal won three straight games to take a 6-5 lead in the first match. At the changeover, Kyrgios angrily tosses his racket. He gave a bent racket to a young boy in the stand.
Kyrgios said, “I was two points away from the first set and I felt that if I had won that first set, the way I was playing, I could have run away from it.”
“So obviously, I was disappointed, but it was one hell of a match.”
At the start of the second set, the chair umpire reprimanded a man in the stands, who repeatedly shouted, “Nick! Nick!”
The umpire said, “Ten thousand people want to watch tennis and you are the only one shouting.”
The man fell down. Later, the umpire told the crowd not to shout between the first and second serve.
Serving in a 3-all tie and 40-love in the second set, Kyrgios served up a secret ace to go up 4-3. He remained on serve until Kyrgios broke Nadal in the 12th game. Nadal’s drop shot took Kyrgios by surprise and the Australian was let loose with an F-bomb during the point. He recovered to return, Nadal sent him back and Kyrgios jumped to win the set with a backhand volley.
In a third 2-all tie, Kyrgios engaged with a spectator seated next to actor Ben Stiller. Not interested in the man’s suggestions on how to play, Kyrgios replied that he didn’t tell Stiller how to act.
“When you’re a spectator and you’re watching professionals play tennis, you just have to stay calm,” Kyrgios said.
“Like, just sit back and enjoy the show. I thought it was a pretty high level match and I was just asking for a little bit of respect.
The conversation did not stop the Australian. He fought off a break point and took a 3-2 lead with consecutive aces at 140 mph and 137 mph.
Kyrgios made a double fault on game point and trailed 4-3. Kyrgios took a 5-4 lead, but Nadal ended the match in 2 hours, 46 minutes with a game of love. He set up match point with a 116-mph ace and then hit the forehand winner with a short ball.
“He played some points well and he got out of it and that’s what he does,” Kyrgios said.
“That’s what makes him great.”
Nadal will face Future in the semi-finals. He will play fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, 18, who defeated defending champion and No. 12 seed Cameron Nouri 6-4, 6-3.
Alcaraz entered their first Masters 1000 semi-final, winning 17 of their last 18 matches. He is crashing out of a tournament title in Rio de Janeiro last month.
Defending women’s champion Paula Badosa defeated Russia’s Veronika Kudermatova 6-3, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals. Badosa will next face sixth seed Maria Sakkari, who defeated Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-4.
3 Inga Swietec against 2015 champion Simona Halep in the other semi-final.