By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, March 15, 2015
Nick Kyrgios served for the match at 5-4, but Grigor Dimitrov rallied for a 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-6 (4) victory to reach the Indian Wells third round.
Photo credit: @BNPParibasOpen
The first meeting between Wimbledon semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov and two-time major quarterfinalist Nick Kyrgios was billed as a Generation Next clash.
If today's pulsating three-set thriller is any indication, the future will be a lot of fun to watch.
Rolling his right ankle and tumbling to the court while scoring the first break of the decisive set, a hobbled Kyrgios waved off the trainer and tried serving out the match at 5-4 before his ankle bloated to tennis ball-size proportions. But Kyrgios could not close.
Dimitrov broke for the first time to extend it then drilled a couple of jolting forehand winners in the tie break to end it.
The 11th-seeded Bulgarian played cleaner tennis in both tie breaks to complete a qualilty 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-6 (4) victory and advance to the Indian Wells third round.
It was a match of explosive serving — Dimitrov hit 16 aces, Kyrgios connected for 12— some crackling exchanges and flashes of outrageous shot-making between two all-court players who may well be squaring off for Grand Slam titles in the future.
"He was swinging freely,which helps. You basically just gotta put the ball in the court somehow," Dimitrov said in his post-match press conference. "Even though that I was 5-4 down, in a way I knew where he's gonna pick his first two serves. That was definitely a big plus for me. After that, I think it was just a matter of a few points, and definitely my mental side was better I think in the end."
The 19-year-old Aussie, who will undergo ultrasound testing on his injured ankle, said the injury was an obvious obstacle when he served for the match.
"Definitely, I thought I was playing decent tennis in tough conditions," Kyrgios told the media afterward. "I just hung in and I actually fell after the shot.
[The injury] was unlucky. It obviously played a big part in serving out the match because I hadn't been broken before that. I thought I was just gonna carry the momentum. I thought [my ankle] could blow up waiting [for the trainer] like that. I thought I would just go out and serve it out."
Kyrgios has a big personality and massive game that plays well on Grand Slam stages. He toppled Rafael Nadal en route to the Wimbledon quarterfinals last summer. Last month, he became the first teenager to advance to the Australian Open last eight since Andrei Cherkasov in 1990. That run put him in pretty exclusive company: Kyrgios is the first teenager to reach multiple Grand Slam quarterfinals since Roger Federer in 2001.
Dimitrov tuned up for the tournament showcasing his tweener in an exhibition victory over the Grand Slam king at Madison Square Garden last week.
Attacking at the right times in the first-set tie break, Dimitrov drew a netted backhand pass to earn the mini-break and a 2-1 lead. Sliding his seventh ace down the middle, he stretched the lead to 4-1 before closing the set with another blast down the T.
Growing pains — and the Aussie's eye-popping power — were evident in the opening game of the second set. Kyrgios missed a relatively routine forehand then took out his frustration on the ball, belting a ball completely out of the stadium. Despite the obligatory code violation warning, it was still an impressive feat. Kyrgios saved a break point holding for 1-0.
Neither man could manage much of a threat on the opponent's serve until the eighth game.
Dimitrov badly bungled an overhead, slapping the shot into net to face a break point for the first time all day. He erased it with a 129 mph service winner only to double fault on his next delivery for a second break point. Ambition got the best of the Bulgarian. Dimitrov sprayed an inside-out forehand wide as Kyrgios broke for the first time for a 5-3 advantage.
"I had three or four very easy shots I usually never miss that either I over hit or tried to play too close to the lines," Dimitrov told Tennis Channel afterward. "Moments like that are not necessary."
The 6-foot-4 Aussie's athleticism — his agility, explosiveness and leaping ability — are all special qualities. Even when he looks out of position, Kyrgios is strong enough to produce an aggressive shot.
Moving backward, Kyrgios still managed to muscle a forehand winner them throttled his seventh ace to snatch the second set and level the match after 79 minutes of high-octane play.
Playing assertive tennis, Dimitrov saved a pair of break points in the opening game of the decider.
Facing a 15-30 deficit, Dimitrov moved up to a mid-court ball and gagged, flagging a forehand into net to face double break point. On the next point, Kyrgios was running to his right chasing a forehand when he rolled his right ankle and crashed to the court. A distracted Dimitrov missed the open court. A fallen Kyrgrios had the break, a 5-4 lead and a big decision to make.
Limping to his court-side seat while leaving his black and yellow Yonex stick on the court, Kyrgios called for the trainer then had to decide: Should he risk removing his shoe and giving his ankle space to blow up? Or try to ride the adrenaline wave and serve it out?
By the time the trainer arrived, Kyrgios waved him off and opted to try to serve it out before his ankle.
"If he came there straightaway, I probably would have had him had a look at it," Kyrgios said of the trainer. "But I didn't think that was a wrong decision there. [My ankle] feels bad now. Yeah, it doesn't feel good...He's a good enough player to take advantage of what happened and take the third set."
A let cord from tested Kyrgio's movement, a double fault put him down break point and when Kyrgios sprayed a shot, Dimitrov was back in at 5-all.
Kyrgios' two-handed backhand is a stiffer shot that his forehand. He sailed a backhand to donate the mini break and Dimitrov drilled a pair of forehand winners for triple match point. He sealed an entertaining two hour, 10-minute test and knows there is more work to be done.
"I think slowly I'm becoming a better player; becoming definitely a student of the game," Dimitrov said. "I'm starting to love the game even more in a way, to accept more, and I think that gives you the opportunity to put yourself in a better way when you're out there on the court. Like, for example, today I was 5-4 down. I didn't put my head down for a second. I just kept fighting."
Sidelined for six weeks while battling a back injury, Kyrgios hobbles out of the tournament on a gimpy ankle with growing confidence.
"I haven't played much tennis at all. I played two tournaments this year and I'm going to take a lot of confidence out of that," Kyrgios said. "I don't think I played well from the back; didn't return well. I still had the chance to win the match. I'm going to take a lot of positives out of that."
Enjoying today's win for a moment, Dimitrov expects some more major battles with Kyrgios in the future.
"I'm sure that's not going to be our last match against each other," he said. "And I'm sure we will have a lot more battles. It started that way. So I hope it will continue that way."
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