Nick Kyrgios, 22, may emerge apparently out of nowhere to clinch a spot in the Nitto Atp Finals in London. In the live ranking, he is now in the 20th spot, but some certain names won't compete in London. Murray, Djokovic, Wawrinka, and Nishikori aren't part of the equation which puts the name of Nick Kyrgios higher on the list. He still has time and opportunities to amass the necessary amount of points, and from what it seems, Beijing is a place where his hunger for success is alive and well. He has made into the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 event after a solid win over Mischa Zverev.
After all of these years with him being around, Kyrgios is still an enigma, a player who can stun the best name only to lose the very next day to some seemingly unknown player. His attitude and lack of consistency is the main reason why he receives so many critics.
Kyrgios recovered from a set down to oust Mischa Zverev
A German player ranked 27th in the world, Mischa Zverev went entered the match having won their only previous meeting; it was a straight-set win in the round of 32 last year in Shanghai. And it seemed that the trend would survive this rubber too with the German putting away the opening set by 6-3. An unforced error from Kyrgios handed Zverev the set. Left in frustration somewhere in the baseline area the Aussie thought he had all the right in the world to smash up his racket.
That gesture turned out to be an instant remedy as he started the next set determined to turn the table the other way around. An early break propelled him in front from where he handled things perfectly. He sealed the set by 6-2 on Zverev's serve. The third act saw a deflated German trying to keep up with the younger opponent.
Kyrgios was all over the place playing some fine tennis. He closed out the deal by 6-2 converting the first match point he had. He will take on Steve Darcis (73 ATP) for a place in the last four in Beijing.
The ATP Finals slot's perspective should motivate him
Other players in contention for a spot in London have failed this week.
One by one, Pablo Carreno-Busta, Kevin Anderson or Sam Querrey all had an early-exit from Beijing or Tokyo. If he gets past Steve Darcis, Kyrgios may bump into Alexander Zverev who looms from the fourth quarter. Tomas Berdych or even Andrey Rublev may fill in the spot. The final has all the chances to bring Rafael Nadal and Kyrgios as its leading characters. It would be great to watch these two confronting again given the fact that the Aussie star stunned Nadal earlier this year in Cincinnati.
If he gets his hands on an ATP Finals slot, he could push harder to break into the top 10 for the first time. The points at stake in London alone are enough to motivate even the most pretentious guy.
