By Chris Oddo | Friday March 2, 2019
Photo: Guillermo Sanchez
At times it felt more like a scene from the movie Nacho Libre than a tennis match. At others it threatened to devolve into lunacy. Always there was suspense--what would he do next? But there were moments of precision woven into the chaos, and it was in this element that Nick Kyrgios once again shone brighter than his opponent as he angled his way to another dramatic, uproarious victory in Acapulco, 7-5 5-7 7-6(7) over John Isner.
The Aussie, who knocked off Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka in the previous two rounds, has embraced the chaos he has created in Acapulco, and he’ll play for the title on Sunday against Alexander Zverev.
Zverev coasted to a routine 7-6(0) 6-3 victory over Cameron Norrie in the evening’s first semi-final.
But as has been the case all week, it was Zverev and his strange brand of tennis-cum-circus that stole the show.
The Mexicans appear to like their villains (who doesn't, really?) and Kyrgios has been more than happy to give ‘em what they want this week at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel. Just as he has since Wednesday in Acapulco, he practically begged the crowd to boo him on Friday night, and they jeered him on any chance they could find.
To be fair, the contest started in a relatively placid manner, with a jovial Kyrgios in the most positive mood we’ve seen from him all week. But by late in the first set, after Kyrgios threw his racquet in frustration after failing to convert an opportunity against Isner’s serve, the mood changed.
The crowd let Kyrgios have it. Kyrgios answered in kind, and the battle lines of the evening were drawn.
Shortly thereafter Kyrgios broke for 6-5 and taunted the crowd, giving a thumbs-up to them as he chomped on his towel and walked to his chair.
In a second set that saw Kyrgios more interested in directing a Mexican wave in the crowd than trying to return Isner's bomb serves, the Aussie lost the script and had his own serve broken. Isner, who dropped just four points on serve in the middle set, took care of his end of things and pushed it to a decider.
The third set was surprisingly serious. Neither player saw a break point and off to a breaker the pair went.
With the crowd firmly in support of Isner, the pair traded mini-breaks in the third-set breaker but Kyrgios took the initiative late and earned three match points, finally converting his third with one of what seemed to be a never-ending supply of clever, hard-fought points played.
Lost in the drama was the fact that Kyrgios played brilliantly for most of this match. He struck the ball cleanly off of both wings, took his backhand up the line with uncanny accuracy, and defended the court with vigor. He may not have been playing to win over the crowd, but he was clearly playing to win.
It’s amazing that the Aussie can keep it together when he often appears to be so close to falling apart, but he has now done it on in three consecutive rounds in Mexico, proving that while he may not be a Top 10 player, he’s every bit as good as one when he sets his mind to it.