On Thursday, Nick Kyrgios defeated Kamil Majchrzak of Poland 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Japan Open after a “frustrating” first set.
Despite a sluggish start, the unconventional Australian prevailed in classic showman fashion, flaunting bold aces and some exaggeratedly easy points. The 27-year-old added that even though Majchrzak broke his serve, there was “never really a doubt in my mind that I was going to win.” The player was eliminated from the US Open in the round of eight.
After the 1 hour and 21-minute match, he commented, “I’ve scarcely been broken all year. So, when the opponent doesn’t really do much to break me, it’s extremely annoying.”
Kyrgios continued, “I was simply not playing the proper way — the court is incredibly fast. The world number 20 claimed that by being “a little bit more aggressive” in the second and third sets, he “ended up just surviving the storm and then going through.
” “Right now, I feel pretty happy about my performance. So even when I’m down a set, I don’t really question my abilities; hitting Grand Slams has given me that confidence.”
Kyrgios, whose attorney represented him in court this week in Australia on a charge of common assault, will compete against third-seeded American Taylor Fritz. In a match that lasted close to two hours, Fritz defeated Hiroki Moriya of Japan 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 with support from the audience the entire time.
Rio Noguchi of Japan was eliminated from the competition after losing to Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-1, and Borna Coric of Croatia defeated American Brandon Nakashima 7-5, 6-2. I want to win for myself.
In the morning, Frances Tiafoe defeated his opponent in the second set to advance to the quarterfinals, stating he wasn’t concerned about the increasing pressure. The 24-year-old American defeated Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-1, 7-6 (9/7). Zapata Miralles has gained attention after the American defeated Rafael Nadal to go to his maiden Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open last month.
The American easily won the opening set, but Miralles battled back to force a tie-break that included some of the match’s finest rallies. Tiafoe, who has won his last 13 tie-breaks, stated, “Good match tonight, tough second set.”
“Sometimes things go in your favor. I’m playing extremely aggressively, serving effectively in tie-breaks, and consistently hitting a few aces.” In the round of eight, he will compete against Miomir Kecmanovic, who defeated Dan Evans of Great Britain 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/4).
Tiafoe had a pivotal part at the Laver Cup in London, where his Rest of the World Team defeated Europe for the first time in the competition’s history, after shocking Nadal at Flushing Meadows. The fourth-seeded player, who is ranked 19th in the world right now, asserted that he is at ease with all the attention.
“You know: ‘Oh, is he going to be the next…?’ I don’t really care about what other people believe I should be doing because I’ve had recent success,” he remarked. Since I’ve been on the road for seven or eight years, nothing really affects me. I want to win for me, not for the benefit of anyone else.