(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Wrapping up a set in 16 minutes is almost an impossible task. Well, not if you ask Nick Kyrgios! The Aussie stood among the dark horse at Wimbledon five years ago. Nick made a reliable start and arranged the third-round clash against Kei Nishikori.
The Japanese scored a 6-1, 7-6, 6-4 triumph in an hour and 37 minutes to advance into the last 16
. The encounter kicked off just before 19:30 local time on Court 1, and only a few people thought they could finish before the darkness.
Nishikori had other plans, though, playing one of his career-best grass matches to overpower Nick in under 100 minutes. Kei finished the job with the last glimpse of sunlight to enter the second week for the third time at Wimbledon.
The first set lasted 16 minutes, with only one player on the court! Kei did everything right, dropping 20 points on serve and losing serve once from the only break chance offered to Nick. Nishikori tamed the rival’s serve beautifully, winning 36% of the return points and turning them into four breaks from eight opportunities.
As we already said, Kyrgios was focused and determined in the first two rounds. He fought well in sets two and three against Kei, but the opening set set the tone for the rest of the match! Nishikori grabbed 25 out of 36 points and was the dominant figure.
The Japanese earned breaks in games two and six and sealed the deal with a hold at love at 5-1 for the best start of the match. Kei held in the opening game after three service winners and broke Nick in game two after four errors from the Aussie, who had just one service winner in six points.
Nothing changed in game three, as Kei brought the game home at love with three winners. We finally saw something from Kyrgios when he held in game four with four winners to put his name on the scoreboard.
Kei Nishikori and Nick Kyrgios coimpleted a set on grass in 16 minutes.
Nishikori lost two points on serve in game five but did enough to move 4-1 ahead and keep the pressure on his rival, who could not stand it.
Nick hit two double faults in game six to get broken again, firing the last serve at 134 mp/h and sending it out from the service field. Kei completed the set with four winners in game seven, taking it in 16 minutes and improving his chances against the darkness.
The players had to meet specific criteria to wrap up seven games in 16 minutes. Kei and Nick were there to play quick, flawless tennis with short rallies and no time wasted between the points. Kei had 12 winners and just two errors.
Nick hit nine direct points and 13 errors, spraying too many loose shots from his forehand and landing only four service winners. In addition, there were no deuces or lengthy exchanges, with 28 points completed in the shortest range up to four strokes.
The other eight lingered between five and nine shots. The number of shots per point and the winners-errors ratio:
