Tennis

Kyrgios to face Nadal after an epic five-set win over Khachanov

January 26, 2020 7:20 am

Nick Kyrgios reacts after beating Karen Khachanov [Source: BBC]

Nick Kyrgios will face top seed Rafael Nadal in the last 16 at the Australian Open after a five-set win over Karen Khachanov.

Kyrgios, who missed match points in the third and fourth sets, won 6-2 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (6-8) 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (10-8).

The Australian, 24, needed nearly four-and-a-half hours to win a tense third-round match against the Russian – having led by two sets and a break.

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But he came through in a final-set tie-break at a boisterous Melbourne Arena.

“It was definitely one of the craziest matches I’ve ever been a part of,” Kyrgios said.

Kyrgios leads 2-1 in his head-to-head record on hard courts against Nadal, with whom he has rarely seen eye-to-eye, although the 19-time Grand Slam champion leads 4-3 on all surfaces.

The pair, who will meet at Melbourne Park on Monday, last faced each other on grass at Wimbledon in July when Nadal won in four sets.