Rafael Nadal emerged victorious in his Wimbledon grudge match against volatile Australian Nick Kyrgios.
The two have been locked in a war of words over the last few weeks, with Kyrgios trading insults with Nadal and his uncle Toni, and that threatened to spill out on to Centre Court in the Spaniard’s 6-3 3-6 7-6 (5) 7-6 (3) win.
There were the customary underarm serves and constant chatter with the umpire, and almost a flashpoint in the third set when Kyrgios thrashed a forehand straight at Nadal and opted not to apologise.
Afterwards, Krygios said: “I don’t care. Why would I apologise? I mean, the dude has got how many slams, how much money in the bank account?
“I think he can take a ball to the chest. I’m not going to apologise to him at all.”
It was not the first time he appeared to take aim at his opponent and a furious Nadal let Kyrgios know exactly how he felt by giving him an icy stare, but he got the ultimate revenge by sending the Australian home.
Nadal said: “I know when you hit this kind of ball, the ball can go anywhere. This time the ball went in, almost hit me, no problem. I am professional, so I know how to avoid this.
“But another one, the ball goes straight to the back so it could have been dangerous for the line umpire. That ball hits an eye or something like this, is a problem. That’s it. I am not angry about him at all.”
John Isner knows a lack of preparation was behind his shock second-round exit.
The 2018 semi-finalist, seeded ninth, looked on course to beat Mikhail Kukushkin as he was a set away from victory, but ended up falling to a 6-4 6-7 (3) 4-6 6-1 6-4 defeat.
Isner has not played any matches on grass prior to this tournament due to a foot injury and it came back to hurt him.
“It’s very disappointing to lose,” he said. “I think my lack of preparation certainly showed today.
“I knew something like that was very possible. Unfortunately, that was the case.
“It stinks going out early in this event, for sure. But it’s not all bad. I go back home and I can really start to practice and work out and get myself back into better shape with each day.”
Marin Cilic’s horrible 2019 continued as the former finalist was beaten at the second-round stage for the second year running.
The 2017 runner-up was beaten 6-4 6-4 6-4 by Joao Sousa on Court 12.
There were no such problem for Roger Federer, who defeated British hope Jay Clarke in straight sets on Court One.
The Swiss was taken to a tie-break in the second set in an otherwise routine outing, but was impressed by Clarke.
“I liked what I saw in Jay,” he said. “I don’t know if grass is his favourite surface or not, it seems like he doesn’t mind longer, extended rallies, so maybe grass is not his maybe number one surface.”
Marcos Baghdatis expected to cry happy tears and he did just that after his retirement was confirmed on Thursday.
The 34-year-old Cypriot announced plans to call time on his 20-year career when his Wimbledon campaign ended.
He admitted before the tournament started that he would struggle to keep his emotions in check when that moment arrived, and it came on day four following a 6-1 7-6 (4) 6-3 defeat to Matteo Berrettini.
Baghdatis struggled to hold back the tears as he soaked up the applause from the crowd on Court Two after the match ended.
He also treated the fans, handing out tennis rackets and clothing, including his shoes, in an emotional goodbye.
Kei Nishikori made it through against a home favourite, dispatching Cameron Norrie in straight sets, while Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson were both American winners on Independence Day.
