Nick Kyrgios complained about court speed, sent a ball angrily into the stands and bickered with his support box on the way to a knockout of world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday in the Montreal Masters second round.
The Wimbledon finalist who backed his career highlight with the ATP 500 title last weekend in Washington, rallied to earn a 6-7 (2/7), 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Medvedev.
The tournament top seed was also fresh from a hardcourt title on Sunday in Los Cabos, Mexico.
Kyrgios now owns two upset wins over reigning world No. 1 players after dispatching Rafael Nadal at the Wiimbledon fourth round in 2014 as a teenager.
He finished his job in two hours to reach the third round against Aussie compatriot Alex de Minaur.
“I had a clean objective today – play a lot of serve and volley and execute better,” Kyrgios said.
“It was a tough match. I didn’t go out there thinking that he was world No. 1. We’ve played each other three times. He’s beaten me once, I’ve beaten him twice.
“I knew he was feeling confident so I had to come out there with a game style that wasn’t going to give him too much rhythm. I served and volleyed pretty much every point.
“Hopefully I can keep this rolling and keep on winning.
“Medvedev is a machine – he’s number one for a reason.”
Spain’s teenaged breakthough Carlos Alcaraz got a harsh welcome to the big-time as he was hit by major nerves in a defeat by American Tommy Paul 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (9/7), 6-3.
The 19-year-old Iberian coached by former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero admitted he lost his bottle and needs to overcome that psychological handicap.
“It was the first time that I couldn’t handle the pressure,” the ATP No. 4 said. “I felt the pressure to be the No. 2 seed and No. 4 in the world.
“It was the first time that I felt that pressure.
“I have to train, I have to be ready to have this pressure, to have this kind of moments, and to learn how to handle them.”
Alcaraz came into the event with two Masters 1000 titles from Miami and Madrid and holding a 42-7 record this season.
The 34th-ranked Paul was ruthless in grinding out the upset.
“It was nice to finish this match at the net,” he said after 36 winners to Alcaraz’s 33. “I did a lot of things well today.
“I played a good level of tennis, comfortable tennis. I’m happy to get through and now have to recover for tomorrow.”
Main photo:- Nick Kyrgios beating World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in Montreal by Mike Lawrence/ATPTour.com
