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Nick Kyrgios to renew Rafael Nadal rivalry in Australian Open fourth round

Kyrgios prevails 10-8 in final-set tiebreak against Karen Khachanov to win longest match of his career

Nick Kyrgios
Image: Nick Kyrgios was pushed the distance by Karen Khachanov, before winning the longest match of his career

Nick Kyrgios will renew his rivalry with Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of the Australian Open after winning a five-set thriller on a final-set tie-break against Karen Khachanov.

The Australian 23rd seed appeared in complete control when he led by two sets to love and a break but Khachanov saved a match point in both the third and fourth sets to force a decider.

Kyrgios, 24, twice held his serve to love to stay in the fifth set before he won the deciding tie-break to clinch a 6-2 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (6-8) 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (10-8) win after four hours and 26 minutes.

"Man, it was crazy. I don't even know what to say right now. That was insane. I've got no words for how I'm feeling right now," said Kyrgios in his on-court interview in front of a delirious Melbourne Arena.

"This is epic. I don't even know what's going on. My legs feel about 40 kilos each.

"I was losing it mentally a little bit, obviously it wasn't easy losing the third and the fourth having match points. My support team willed me over the line. I thought I was going to lose, honestly."

Kyrgios takes in his moment of victory
Image: Kyrgios takes in his moment of victory

Earlier, top seed Nadal marched into the last 16 - for the 13th time in his career - with a dominant 6-1 6-2 6-4 win against fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta.

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It will be the eighth meeting between Kyrgios and Nadal, with the Spaniard leading 4-3 after the world No 1 won in four thrilling sets in their most recent encounter at Wimbledon last year.

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On facing Nadal, Kyrgios added: "He has a winning record against me. Whatever happens between us, he's an amazing player, arguably the greatest of all time.

"I'm going to do everything I can to get ready and hopefully it will be enough."

Kyrgios held firm to clinch victory after a comeback by Karen Khachanov
Image: Kyrgios held firm to clinch victory after a comeback by Karen Khachanov

For the second successive night, a men's singles match came down to a deciding tie-break, after Roger Federer's remarkable recovery from 8-4 down to win the final six points against Australian John Millman.

Kyrgios recorded 97 winners in a typically entertaining performance which combined the sublime and the ridiculous, including an underarm serve, several tweeners and a diving backhand winner that cut his hand and resulted in a row with the umpire over a time violation.

Khachanov fought back in a gripping finale as the Russian recovered from a 3-0 deficit to open a 8-7 lead on his serve in the final-set tiebreak.

However, Kyrgios then hit a backhand winner down the line to regain parity before he fell to the court in celebration after successive backhand errors from Khachanov.

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