Murray quells Aussie favorite Kyrgios
— -- Australia is hungry for another tennis champion, but not quite as ravenous as Great Britain was.
When Andy Murray won Wimbledon in 2013, the often dour Scot ended a 77-year famine of futility for local products at the All England Club.
In the 1960s and into the '70s, Australia dominated the global scene -- and the Aussie Open, too -- with Ashley Cooper, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Ken Rosewall and John Newcombe. Since then, it's been a bit thin, although Pat Cash, Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt scratched out five major titles between 1987 and 2002.
Enter Nick Kyrgios, a tempestuous 6-foot-4 teenager from Canberra with some sometimes dazzling chops. At Wimbledon last year, he spotted Richard Gasquet two sets -- and came back to win in five. He seemed almost as unconscious as he was innocent in the fourth round against Rafael Nadal and, well, maybe that provided the critical mass in a stunning four-set win over the 14-time Grand Slam titlist.
And then Kyrgios sort of disappeared. Since that breakthrough at Wimbledon, the now-19-year-old had won one more match (five) than he'd lost at the ATP World Tour level. Clearly, the Wimbledon experience upset his highly charged equilibrium.
Enter Murray, who also was redirected (as they say in tennis) after his historic win at Wimbledon. In the ensuing 14 months, he didn't reach a single final. Now, after a nice finish last fall, Murray's game has come back to him.
The two met Tuesday evening in Melbourne in what looked like a tantalizing quarterfinal matchup.
Appearances can be deceiving, though. Murray, the No. 6 seed, was probably the worst opponent this side of Novak Djokovic that Kyrgios could have drawn. Murray is superbly fit after some gruesome training days in Miami back in December and also a talented tactician, whose many gifts perfectly counteract Kyrgios'.
Murray prevailed 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in a tidy 2-hour, 5-minute match.
"It was a tricky match," Murray said afterward. "I tried to start as quickly as possible. I know how dangerous Nick is. I've seen his matches. He's going to make some mistakes. Growing up in the spotlight isn't easy and he's doing a great job.
"To make two quarterfinals at Slams as a teenager is very rare."
Murray will play No. 7-seeded Tomas Berdych -- a three-set winner over Nadal -- in a Thursday night semifinal.
Berdych has a not-so-secret weapon. He has former Murray hitting partner/assistant coach Dani Vallverdu sitting in his box.
"Tough match," Murray said. "Hopefully, I'll put in another good performance."
Two years ago, Kyrgios won the Australian Open boys' title and found himself the No. 1-ranked junior. He's the first teenager to reach two major quarterfinals since a guy named Roger Federer did it in 2001. Kyrgios was bidding to become the first Australian to reach a Grand Slam semifinal since Hewitt managed the feat a decade ago. To reach this threshold, he took out Andreas Seppi, the man who escorted Federer to the exit, after dropping the first two sets. After he won 8-6 in the fifth, Kyrgios -- wearing a stylish study in neon, a rakish razor-cut and a diamond earring -- collapsed on the court as the Australian crowd lost its collective mind.
"Yeah, it's crazy," Kyrgios said afterward. "I don't think it's sunk in yet. When I saw I had finally won the match it was incredible. It was the best feeling I ever had. To know the body could come back from two sets to love, knowing I haven't had matches, it's just massive confidence."
This one, he said, felt better than Wimbledon. This time, he said, he had a better idea of how to handle it.
"There was a lot of expectation coming into this tournament," Kyrgios said. "I was obviously out for a couple weeks before Sydney. I wasn't expecting anything, especially not quarterfinals. And, yeah, it's just massive, especially to do it in front of your home crowd.
"Yeah, I think I'll be pulling up better than I did at Wimbledon. I know what to expect now, now what I am going to be feeling, especially after a five-set match like that. It's massive confidence being 19 knowing that you can last matches like that."
Serving at 2-3 in the opening set, Kyrgios answered Murray's first break point with an ace, but when a tentative forehand drifted long three points later, Murray was up 4-2 and went on to win the set.
Kyrgios looked like he was going to throw his racket, but caught it in the air. After failing to break Murray in the fourth game of the second set, Kyrgios feigned another racket slam, but held back. In the tiebreaker, he finally threw it down and cracked it.
Actually, Kyrgios put himself in excellent position to level the match. He had two serves and a 4-3 lead, but a great running lob from Murray and another sloppy forehand setup followed by an error ruined that chance. Murray's first double fault of the match made it 5-5 before Kyrgios missed an easy return wide and lost it. As he visited the changeover chair to replace his fractured weapon, Kyrgios fumed. Another sweet lob, over the charging Kyrgios, gave Murray the set -- and a virtual guarantee of victory.
Murray had won 99 consecutive matches after leading by two sets to love in a major.
The image that will linger: Kyrgios scrambling to hit a between-the-legs shot in the decisive third-set break of serve and Murray waiting at net, then dropping a backhand volley into the open court. His steely look of triumph was directed at Kyrgios and then his box.
After a difficult 2014 season that followed back surgery, clearly Murray is feeling it.
He knows the territory; he's a three-time finalist Down Under. He'd desperately like to make it four.
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