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A crazy game: Nick Kyrgios in action
Photo: Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images
Scene of the game
: It wasn't a minute-long rally, no seemingly impossible return, no runaway net scooter.
It was an ace that heralded a special moment in this five-movement match, rich in spectacular scenes.
This ace, with which Nick Kyrgios converted his second set ball in the fourth round, that moment when the second serve came into the field at 219 kilometers per hour and Ugo Humbert could only watch the ball, triggered something that did not exist in sport for a long time : Cheers.
He came from the stands, and not just from the Australian tennis player's box.
Hundreds of fans jumped up and shouted their glee as if they had just been waiting for this for many months.
Later, after winning the match, it sounded like this:
The result
: This ace brought the set equalization for Kyrgios, who then also won the fifth set and thus this two-round match of the Australian Open 5: 7, 6: 4, 3: 6, 7: 6 (7: 2), 6: 4 could decide.
In the third round he will now meet US Open winner Dominic Thiem.
Kyrgios is looking forward to the duel, but also said: "When I think about playing against him now, everything just hurts me."
The quote
: "I don't even know how I did it, this is one of the craziest matches I've ever played," said Kyrgios during the winner's interview, while the fans in the background continued to cheer.
Later, the 25-year-old added, visibly exhausted, at the press conference: "I feel old, after a match like this I just want to go home and have a glass of wine."
Like in the old days
: to unfamiliar ears after almost a year, the Night Session in the John Cain Arena sounded like a 2020 final in sport-crazy Melbourne.
The Australian Open 2020, that was before the novel corona virus grew from an epidemic to a pandemic that was supposed to change the way sports were run.
As a precaution, Kyrgios had also refrained from traveling and tournaments since March 2020, slipping from 23rd to 47th in the world rankings.
And so it must have felt like coming home for him too.
Back to Melbourne, back to his sport, back to the adrenaline.
And who wants to claim that Humbert's two match balls fended off in the fourth set are not due to the spectators?
At least not Kyrgios.
"I'm still amazed at the atmosphere."
According to official information, 19,000 spectators were on the site for the third day.
Read here how Australia made a bit of normality possible in times of the pandemic: Fragile freedom.
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In the evening in Melbourne
Photo: ASANKA BRENDON RATNAYAKE / REUTERS
Hum-who?
The Frenchman is no stranger to the tennis world.
In fact, Ugo Humbert is one of the most promising talents on the tour, took advantage of many opportunities to play in 2020, won the tournaments in Antwerp and Auckland.
Humbert also delivered an impressive performance against Kyrgios.
The Frenchman, number 29, had the local hero several times on the verge of defeat.
"He's a great player, he played amazing tennis," Kyrgios said.
He is also a good serve, incredibly strong backhand, good forehand, good volley and a good competitor: "He'll be dangerous when he's more experienced."
Game boycott
: But not only the rallies entertained.
Kyrgios could also be sure of the support of the ranks in his role as a showman - including theatrics, smashed thugs, curses and deduction of points for unsporting behavior.
He complained several times about the network sensor and asked the chair judge Marijana Veljovic to "turn off the machine."
In the second sentence he even said he would not continue to play until that had happened.
Before he, you guessed it, went on and made the next two points to equalize the set.
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Once, Marijana Veljovic even had to come down from her high seat, which resembles a spaceship command chair, to discuss the network sensor with the angry Kyrgios
Photo:
WILLIAM WEST / AFP
The admonisher
: Kyrgios cultivates his image as an antihero, as a reminder, as the last upright, as the only indomitable man in meticulously planned and predictable men's tennis.
Even before and during the Australian Open, he did not hold back with his opinion about his colleagues who, in his opinion, were not particularly exemplary.
Most recently, he often worked on Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic for their behavior in the corona crisis.
Even when the mood in Australia towards the tournament slipped further from quarantine due to negative comments from some tennis professionals, he took the side of his compatriots.
Most often, Kyrgios was asked about Djokovic, who asked tournament director Craig Tiley to relax the quarantine colleagues.
He found the usual crisp words, but in one of his quieter moments the basketball fan said that too: "He's one of the leading players in our sport, our LeBron James, so to speak, he should be a role model for all players." LeBron James, who always made his popularity uses again to fight injustice.
Coincidentally, Djokovic was asked shortly before which world star he would like to meet.
His answer: Michael Jordan.
In his basketball career, Jordan always impressed more with athletic achievements than with social commitment.
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