Kyrgios sets up Murray showdown as Serena to face Kuznetsova

Sports Sunday 03/July/2016 22:01 PM
By: Times News Service
Kyrgios sets up Murray showdown as Serena to face Kuznetsova

London: Australian Nick Kyrgios turned on the style to book a Wimbledon fourth round clash with favourite Andy Murray as he outplayed Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez on People's Sunday.
The unpredictable 15th seed wowed a packed Court One crowd with a dazzling exhibition of his mercurial skills, knocking off two sets in quick time for a 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 after the match had been stopped by bad light the previous evening.
A focused Kyrgios took the third set after breaking left-hander Lopez in the eighth game and needed a single break of serve in the fourth set to complete the job.
Kyrgios was given a time violation by umpire Pascal Maria as he served on match point but he shrugged it off and pumped his fist in delight as Lopez sliced a backhand long.
The 21-year-old, a quarterfinalist two years ago when he knocked out Rafael Nadal, will now set his sights on second seed Murray in the stand-out clash of the last 16.
"My attitude was great good today, very, very happy with the way I played," Kyrgios said in a court-side interview.
"I definitely have the tools to (beat Murray) but he is probably the favourite now Djokovic is out."

Serena's power
World number one Serena Williams kept her title defence on track on Sunday, downing Germany's Annika Beck 6-3, 6-0 with a crushing display of power and booming serves.
Williams looked in no mood to follow men's top seed Novak Djokovic out of tournament after his shock defeat on Saturday and treated the middle Sunday party crowd to an imperious 51-minute performance.
She thundered down the biggest women's serve of the grasscourt major so far at 123 mph (198 kph), followed by an ace, to seal the first set against the unseeded 22-year-old.
Williams, who suffered a scare in round two against fellow American Christina McHale, romped through the second set in 20 minutes as Beck's resistance crumbled.
The 34-year-old will play Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova in the last 16 on Monday as she continues her quest to equal Steffi Graf's record of 22 major titles.
Kuznetsova shrugged off a code violation for on-court coaching as she produced a stirring comeback to reach the fourth round for the first time in eight years with a 6-7(1), 6-2, 8-6 win over American Sloane Stephens.
After Stephens had taken a 2-1 lead in the deciding set, the Russian lost her temper with umpire Marijana Veljovic when the Serbian official accused Kuznetsova of receiving illegal coaching from Carlos Martinez, who was sitting in the players' box.
"I bet you all my prize money he didn't say anything," Kuznetsova yelled.
The exchange continued well into the change of ends with the 13th seed declaring: "You're not doing well."
The distraction appeared to have completely thrown Kuznetsova off stride as she allowed Stephens, seeded 18th, to take a 5-2 lead.
But just when it seemed as if the controversy would cost her dear, Kuznetsova produced the kind of form that carried her to two grand slam titles.

Gasquet to play Tsonga
Seventh seed Richard Gasquet moved stealthily into the fourth round for the seventh time in his career on Sunday, finishing off Spain's Albert Ramos 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-3.
The French stylist required only 31 minutes to seal victory on Court 18, having moved two sets to one ahead the previous evening against the world number 36.
Gasquet, who reached the semifinals last year as he did in 2007, faces compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last 16.
Jo Wilfried Tsonga made sure he did not end up on the losing side as his compatriot Nicolas Mahut did six years ago after he saved a match point to beat the American marathon man John Isner 6-7(3), 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 19-17

Del Potro bows out
Juan Martin del Potro's first Wimbledon campaign for three years ended in disappointing fashion as the Argentine crumbled to a 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 7-5, 6-1 defeat by Frenchman Lucas Pouille on Sunday.
Trailing by two sets to one when bad light stopped the third-round tussle on Saturday, Del Potro looked jaded as the fourth set sped away from him.
Pouille, seeded 32nd, will face Australian Bernard Tomic in round four.

Vandeweghe advances
American Coco Vandeweghe got the Wimbledon Middle Sunday party started on Centre Court, beating sixth seed Roberta Vinci 6-3, 6-4 in front of an excitable crowed who scooped tickets online for the extra day's play after rain delays scrambled the first-week schedule.
"It was amazing, really was quite cool. It was similar to (last year) when I played Maria (Sharapova) on quarter-final day. The crowd was really into it," the 27th seed said as she came off court.
Vandeweghe will next play 21st seed Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who beat the Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky, seeded 11th, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the last 16.