- Updates from the evening session of day eight in Melbourne
- McEnroe slams Margaret Court as the ‘crazy aunt’ of tennis
- Any thoughts? Email or tweet @tumcarayol
Rafael Nadal 6-3 3-6 7-6(6) *2-1 Nick Kyrgios: The question of Kyrgios’ condition has been answered quite quickly. His footwork is kaputt and he is slapping tired groundstrokes. After two forehand errors, Kyrgios handed over the break to love with a double fault.
That was a great set of tennis and an even more astonishing climax. Nothing sums up Rafael Nadal quite like the point at *6-6 in the tiebreak. After double faulting on set point and facing the possibility of Kyrgios serving for the tiebreak, many players would have crumbled. Nadal simply reset and the second he had the opportunity to attack his forehand down-the-line, he went for the shot without a hint of doubt. He does this so often yet seeing him work and thrive under suffocating pressure is never any less impressive.
Kyrgios didn’t do too much wrong until those final points. Let’s see what he still has in the tank.
