Rising teenager Nick Kyrgios has staged the performance of his career so far, mounting an incredible comeback to upset French 13th seed Richard Gasquet at Wimbledon.
The Australian, at 19 the youngest man in the draw, came from two sets down and saved nine match points over four separate games in the final set before clinching victory 3-6 6-7 (7-4) 6-4 7-5 10-8.
Kyrgios, in his Wimbledon main draw debut, reached the third round of a grand slam for the first time.
He will next face Czech Jiri Vesely, who upset French 24th seed Gael Monfils.
Kyrgios became the first Australian through to the third round, with Lleyton Hewitt hoping to join him later on Tuesday.
“It’s definitely the biggest win of my career so far,” Kyrgios said.
“I knew the match points were there for him, I just went through my routine on serve and took my time.
“As soon as I got my opportunity I took it.”
World No.14 was also pushed to five sets by Australian qualifier James Duckworth in the first round but he was well in control early against Kyrgios.
The Australian, who earned a wildcard entry to the tournament after winning a Challenger event in Nottingham earlier this month, fell behind 3-0 in the first set and couldn’t recover.
Kyrgios fought back from a break down in the second set but Gasquet dominated the tiebreak and the Frenchman looked headed for a clinical win.
However Kyrgios maintained his composure and clinched a break to go 4-3 up.
He held to love in the next game and served out the set, finishing it off with a big forehand winner down the line.
Both men served well early in the fourth set.
Forced to hold serve to stay in the match at 5-4, Kyrgios was under pressure at 0-30 but got out of trouble.
He then broke in the next game with massive backhand winner and fought back in a nervy service game to level the match.
The final set was on serve until Kyrgios looked set to concede the match softly, trailing 5-4 and 0-40 on serve.
But he showed nerve well beyond his years, serving superbly to save three straight break points and win the game.
It was to be a sign of things to come.
Two games later Kyrgios fended off another three match points, coming as close as possible to defeat when he was called for a double fault on a Hawkeye challenge that payed off by a matter of millimetres.
Kyrgios faced break points in his next two service games but, somehow, kept coming up with the answers.
The Australian’s refusal to give in finally took its toll when Gasquet surrendered serve to love to fall behind 9-8.
Kyrgios was flawless in serving out the match, sealing his first match point with his 21st ace and holding his hands to his face in an emotional celebration.
