Kyrgios, Halep storm into Wimbledon quarterfinals

LONDON: Nick Kyrgios shrugged off a shoulder injury to beat Brandon Nakashima in five sets and book a place in the Wimbledon quarter-finals on Monday, staying on course for a blockbuster clash against Rafael Nadal. Former champion Simona Halep swept past fourth-seeded Paula Badosa to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the fifth time on Monday. Halep won 6-1, 6-2 in just one hour as her Spanish opponent’s game fell apart with 21 unforced errors. The Romanian, who was champion in 2019, has yet to drop a set at the tournament. The maverick Australian was on his best behaviour just two days after his stormy third-round victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas, winning 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 6-2. Kyrgios kept his cool on a sun-drenched Centre Court in match lasting three hours and 11 minutes to book a last-eight tie against Chile’s Cristian Garin. The 27-year-old recovered from a slow start and his shoulder issue to strike his groundstrokes more freely as the match went on. Kyrgios, who had regular physio treatments, hammered 79 winners including 35 aces, breaking the 20-year-old Nakashima’s serve three times to improve to 11-2 on grass in 2022.

The last time the 40th-ranked player reached the last eight at a major was at the Australian Open in 2015, a year after he reached the same stage on his debut at the All England Club. Kyrgios will next play Garin, who battled back from two sets down and saved two match points to beat 19th seed Alex de Minaur of Australia. The unseeded Chilean took the third set on a tie-break and went on to win 2-6, 5-7, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, 7-6 (10/6) in a gruelling contest lasting four hours and 34 minutes. Elsewhere, 11th seed Taylor Fritz cruised past Australian qualifier Jason Kubler 6-3, 6-1, 6-4. In the women’s competition, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina reached the quarter-finals for the first time with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Petra Martic of Croatia.