Giant-killer Nick Kyrgios sends Milos Raonic packing at Wimbledon
Aussie upstart sets up clash with Richard Gasquet while defending champion Novak Djokovic easily advances to the fourth round
Australia's controversial Nick Kyrgios and Frenchman Richard Gasquet set up a Wimbledon last-16 clash after knocking out last year's semi-finalists Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov on Friday.
Defending champion and top seed Novak Djokovic breezed into the fourth round with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win over Australian Bernard Tomic.
Djokovic, also the 2011 champion, will face Kevin Anderson of South Africa for a place in the quarter-finals.
I lost my focus a bit towards the end of the first set, but I knew what my game plan was and I stuck to it. I toughed it out
Kyrgios, who famously defeated Rafael Nadal last year when he was ranked 144 in the world, avenged his quarter-final loss of 12 months ago to Raonic with a 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 third-round victory over the seventh seed. The 20-year-old Kyrgios hit 34 aces and blasted 61 winners.
"I lost my focus a bit towards the end of the first set, but I knew what my game plan was and I stuck to it. I toughed it out," Kyrgios said.
"Last year I tried to hit too many winners off his serve. This time I went to the chipped approach and it worked."
Kyrgios faces another rematch in the fourth round against Gasquet after beating the Frenchman in a dramatic five-setter in the second round last year.