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A complex Kyrgios crashes out of Australian Open

Nick Kyrgios' topsy-turvy career continues to surprise. (AAP Image/Mark Dadswell)
Expert
18th January, 2017
69

When Nick Kyrgios led veteran Italian Andreas Seppi 6-1 7-6 3-2 in the second round of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park last night it was all over bar the handshakes at the net.

But not for complex Kyrgios.

He went from being in total control to losing the third and fourth sets as well as being charged with the “f” word and demolishing his racquet for a point penalty, and he was lucky not to cop a third from central umpire Carlos Ramos that would have cost him a game.

If Kyrgios didn’t tank the third and fourth sets, he certainly gave a damn good impression of it. He really is a low-life in that mood.

There was no immediate problem apparent why he switched off except to mutter to his box “he didn’t sign up for this shit” – ‘this shit’ meaning his training schedule.

If that was the reason, that too was rubbish as he was within sight of cruising to a comfortable straight sets victory until be became, yet again, a dead-set Richard Cranium.

“My body was sore,” was Kyrgios’ lame excuse at the media conference.

Lame because Kyrgios upped his ante in the fifth set.

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Apart from a few “couldn’t care less shots” and an outrageous ‘tweener that ending up winning the point, Kyrgios actually had a match point on Seppi’s serve at 8-7 with the match clock exactly on three hours.

But a superb Seppi forehand down the line kept the 89th seed in the tournament, and he went on to win the decider 10-8.

More’s the pity Kyrgios didn’t win for his fans who busted a gut trying to lift the Kyrgios carcass over the line, but more telling a courtside interview with American Jim Courier, the best in the business.

Courier would have got the real story out of Kyrgios who didn’t seem to give a continental he lost.

There are so many Australian tennis fans who would genuinely love to see Kyrgios win a major, but in all truth he doesn’t deserve their support until he earns it.

But with his inconsistent track record, don’t hold your breath waiting..

The other half of the Australian brat pack Bernard Tomic behaved in his four-set win over 36-year Dominican Republic journeyman Victor Estrella Burgos, ranked 103 in the world.

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Other second round winners – Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Stanislaus Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, Tomas Berdych, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, and giant American Sam Querry who straight setted the highly-promising 17-year-old Australian Alex De Minaur.

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