SM
Liverpool vs. Tottenham: 1 hr 18 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

Australian Open day eight: Nadal sees off Kyrgios as quarter-finalists set

:Headline: Australian Open day eight: Nadal sees off Kyrgios as quarter-finalists set: ID:387708: from db_amp
The story of Monday's action from Melbourne Park.

Rafael Nadal repeated his Wimbledon victory over Nick Kyrgios to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.

The most-anticipated match of the tournament so far certainly lived up to its billing, with Kyrgios, who paid tribute to basketball star Kobe Bryant by wearing a Los Angeles Lakers vest, throwing everything at the world number one but just coming up short in a 6-3 3-6 7-6 (6) 7-6 (4) defeat.

Nadal next faces Dominic Thiem while there are no former Melbourne champions left in the women's draw after victories for Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Anett Kontaveit.

Picture of the day

The sun sets over Nadal and Kyrgios (Andy Wong/AP)

Quote of the day

“You do hear. It's like couples, we all want Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston to get back together, right?”
-

Conchita Martinez on the reaction to the renewal of her partnership with Garbine Muguruza.

Bringing the tricks

It was not just Kyrgios playing the showman at Melbourne Park on Monday. Gael Monfils, no strange to the unconventional, won a point against Thiem with an underarm serve while Polish teen Iga Swiatek went for the tweener.

Tat's the way

Tennis players are a superstitious lot but Thiem revealed his mother has established one of the more unusual traditions – getting a new tattoo every time her son wins a tournament.

"Unfortunately I have to confirm it," he said sheepishly. "I really would like to deny it but no.

"I had a pretty bad start to the season last year, some first-round losses, and after a long trip to Indian Wells from Rio, really jet-lagged, she said if you win this title I'm going to make a tattoo. I ended up winning that one so this tradition started."

Fallen seeds

Nick Kyrgios, who paid tribute to Kobe Bryant, was one of the seeds to fall (Andy Wong/AP)

Women: Kiki Bertens (9), Elise Mertens (16), Angelique Kerber (17)
Men: Daniil Medvedev (4), Gael Monfils (10), Andrey Rublev (17), Nick Kyrgios (23)

Who's up next?

Ashleigh Barty is flying the Australian flag alone in singles following Kyrgios' defeat and she will try to avenge a quarter-final loss from last year against Petra Kvitova.

Sofia Kenin and Ons Jabeur will both bid to reach a first grand slam semi-final while Novak Djokovic takes on Milos Raonic and Roger Federer meets Tennys Sandgren.

British trio Joe Salisbury, Ken Skupksi and Jonny O'Mara are all in action in the quarter-finals of the men's doubles.

amp_article__387708 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2020-01-27 15:24:05:
html db last update - 2021-02-22 23:52:30 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html
Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal36265588286083
2Manchester CityMan City35257387335482
3Liverpool35229477364175
4Aston Villa35207873522167
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs341861067541360
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle351751378562256
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd34166125251154
8Chelsea34149116559651
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham351310125665-949
10Bournemouth36139145263-1148
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves36137164960-1146
12Fulham36128165155-444
13Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton341111125257-544
14Crystal Palace351010154557-1240
15Everton36129153849-1137
16Brentford3699185260-836
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3689194563-1829
18Luton TownLuton3668224978-2926
19Burnley3659223974-3524
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd36372635100-6516
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .