NICK Kyrgios has won the battle of the Grand Slam champions in waiting, beating Alexander Zverev in straight sets to reach the last 16 at Indian Wells.
The Australian put on quite a show in the Californian desert, wowing fans with some audacious shot-making — including his trademark ‘tweener — against the German teenager en route to completing a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Kyrgios broke Zverev three times while being untroubled on his own serve throughout the 72-minute encounter.
Until last week, Zverev had been the only player to beat Roger Federer in 2017 but he had to play second fiddle to Kyrgios from the outset in the much- anticipated first-time meeting between tennis’s hottest two young talents.
Kyrgios stamped his authority with breaks early in both sets. Rarely hitting top gear, he struck six aces, won 84 per cent of first-serve points and broke Zverev for a third time to close out the match and set up a last-16 showdown with either Novak Djokovic or Juan Martin del Potro. Earlier in the day, Rafael Nadal continued his career-long dominance of Fernando Verdasco, dismissing his fellow Spaniard 6-3 7-5 to power into the fourth round.
“I played a solid match, I was very aggressive with my serve,” Nadal said. “I played much better than the first day.” Nadal will play Federer next, if the Swiss gets past unseeded American Steve Johnson.
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