Kyrgios stuns world No 8 Ruud for biggest win in over two years
Kyrgios is through to the fourth round in Indian Wells where he will meet 10th seed Jannik Sinner
ATP Indian Wells Masters 1000 | Results | Schedule
Nick Kyrgios has time and again said that when his game is on, he can compete and beat the world’s best players. On Monday, the 26-year-old Australian displayed power & finesse to upset world No 8 Casper Ruud, of Norway, in straight sets for his first top 10 win since January 2020.
Kyrgios’ serve was on song throughout the much-anticipated third-round clash against Ruud after the pair famously traded barbs on social media over the Norwegian’s abilities on hard courts a couple of years ago.
Playing like he had a point to prove, Kyrgios broke Ruud’s serve in the very first game of the match and held that break to win the set 6-4. He broke again at 1-1 in the second set and served out the match 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 16 minutes.
Kyrgios, who did not face a single break point in the match and has yet to drop his serve through three matches, hit 7 aces and won 82 percent of his first serve points during the match. The win levelled the head-to-head between the two players at 1-1.
Next up for Kyrgios, a first clash against Sinner
Kyrgios, who teamed up with countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis to win the Australian Open men’s doubles title, will face another big test in the next round against 10th seeded Jannik Sinner.
The 20-year-old Italian scored a 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 win over Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi. After being down 5-2 in the final set, Bonzi made one final push and broke Sinner to come back to 5-4. However, the Italian held his serve to complete the win in two hours and 37 minutes.
Kyrgios and Sinner have never played before and their fourth-round clash will be their first on the ATP Tour.
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