Australia's Nick Kyrgios won an electric four-setter with his idol Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to advance to the round of 16 at the Australian Open on Friday. Kyrgios, seeded 17, needed three tiebreakers to win a crunch match with the former finalist 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/5) in 3hr 17min in a spectacular night match on Rod Laver Arena. It pitches the mercurial Australian into a round of 16 showdown with Bulgaria's world No 3 Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday.
Kyrgios, urged on by his home crowd, traded breathtaking shots with Tsonga, who lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2008 Australian final when Kyrgios was a doting 12-year-old fan. "It was amazing. I've never won a match on this court before but playing Jo I was obviously very nervous," Kyrgios said on court. "He was a guy I looked up to as a kid, still do, he's a great guy. I'm just so happy to get through.
"At 5-2 down in the fourth set breaker, I was getting ready for a fifth set mentally. I somehow just hung in and got a couple looks (at the serve). "I knew my best chance was probably to get in a couple tiebreakers.