Kyrgios sent packing from Wimbledon on tough day for Aussies
A crestfallen Nick Kyrgios is blaming stage fright for his shocking third-round exit from Wimbledon.
Completing a miserable day for Australia at The All England Club, Kyrgios admitted he "panicked" and was stricken with nerves in crashing to a 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 third-round defeat at the hands of Japanese superstar Kei Nishikori.
The 15th seed's elimination left Australia without a second-week contender for the second year running after Alex de Minaur, Matt Ebden and women's hopes Ashleigh Barty and Daria Gavrilova all lost on Saturday.
Kyrgios's exit, though, was undoubtedly the most disappointing — and dramatic.
Two days after being dubbed "pathetic" for his childish conduct by former women's champion Marion Bartoli, Kyrgios handed his critics more ammunition with a lifeless first-set performance.
Looking utterly disinterested, Kyrgios gifted Nishikori a second service break — and effectively the set with a 5-1 advantage — when he fired a 215kph second-serve double-fault on break point.
"He kind of gave up," ex-British Davis Cup star Andrew Castle said on the BBC after Kyrgios surrendered the opening set in 16 minutes.
Kyrgios at the majors
| Tournament | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | 3rd Rd | 2nd Rd | 4th Rd |
| French Open | 3rd Rd | 2nd Rd | DNP |
| Wimbledon | 4th Rd | 1st Rd | 3rd Rd |
| US Open | 3rd Rd | 1st Rd | — |
* Rd = Round, DNP = Did not play
But the Australian said he merely couldn't deliver because of nerves.
"I felt great this morning. Hit the ball fine. As soon as I got out there, I just didn't feel good," he said.
"I was pretty uptight. A lot of nerves. I just struggled with a lot of things today. I just never settled.
"Obviously getting broken first game didn't help me. I just kind of panicked. Everything kind of just went south.
"I mean, he played well. I always find it tough playing him."
Kyrgios did muster the grit to retrieve a service break in the second set to force a tiebreaker.
Alas, his frustrations boiled to the surface after missing a backhand pass to give Nishikori three set points.
He belted a ball into the stands, drawing a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct from the chair umpire and loud jeers from the crowd on Show Court No.1.
Nishikori only needed one set point to convert and seize total command at two sets to love up.
Staring down the barrel, Kyrgios complained of being unable to move at one point as the match, which only started at 7.25pm local time, continued under fading light.
Kyrgios probably preferred it hadn't.
It was all over well before sunset, with Nishikori finishing off Australia's great white hope after just one hour and 37 minutes.
Kyrgios had been considered one of the great dangers to Roger Federer's title defence after reaching the semi-finals of both his grass court lead-up events in Germany.
But he departs without having made the last 16 of a slam for two years.
"I'm pissed off, of course," the two-time major quarter-finalist said. "I wanted to do well. Not much I can do really. It's disappointing."
Nishikori's victory comes two days after he took out Kyrgios's compatriot, former All England Club quarter-finalist Bernard Tomic, in four sets.
While the scrutiny will centre on Kyrgios, the Asian trailblazer played some blinding tennis and now looms as a genuine contender to emerge from a wide-open bottom half of the draw and make next Sunday's final.
Barty throws away strong position against Kasatkina
Australian women's number one Ash Barty made a flying start before collapsing to a 7-5, 6-3 second-round defeat at the hands of Russian 14th seed Daria Kasatkina.
Just as a dream draw was opening up, Barty floundered in an error-riddled display that left her coach Craig Tyzzer shaking his head in dismay as he watched on forlornly.
The 17th seed piled up 24 unforced errors to bow out in the first week of a grand slam for the 15th time in as many appearances.
"A frustrating day for sure," Barty said.
"It's disappointing to lose in any tournament, but I felt like I was playing well and I wasn't able to do that today.
"I knew what I wanted to do out there but I wasn't able to do that."
Alex De Minaur's great Wimbledon run ended when he lost to top seed Rafael Nadal, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
Nadal proved far too strong, even pulling out a perfect tweener lob to win a point.
Matt Ebden also bowed out, losing 6-1, 6-7 (7-3), 6-3, 6-4 to France's Gilles Simon, while the other Australian in action, Daria Gavrilova, lost 6-3, 6-1 to Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus.
AAP
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