Photo : Martin Sidorjak
Two Canadian men are through to the fourth round of Wimbledon after Félix Auger-Aliassime advanced on Saturday at the All-England Club when Nick Kyrgios retired from their third-round match.
The pair split the first two sets 2-6, 6-1 before the Aussie pulled out with an abdominal injury.
The match had been one of the most hyped of the tournament so far, but ultimately did not live up to expectations with two very uneven sets.
The injury was suffered late in the first and got progressively more prevalent as the match went on. By the end of the second set, Kyrgios was barely able to hit the ball and retired after Auger-Aliassime won five consecutive games to take the set.
When the match came to its premature conclusion, Auger-Aliassime had 16 winners and 12 unforced errors, bettering Kyrgios in both categories, and had won 71 percent of his first serve points.
Auger-Aliassime joins Denis Shapovalov, who beat Andy Murray on Friday, in the last sixteen. It will be Auger-Aliassime’s third appearance in the fourth round of a Grand Slam.
Despite not showing up to the court with his shoes, Kyrgios came to play while Auger-Aliassime struggled to find his game early.
After the Canadian held his opening service game, Kyrgios took over, winning four games in a row to take a 4-1 lead and broke Auger-Aliassime’s serve three consecutive times as he raced through the opening set in just over half an hour.
Just before the end of the first set, Kyrgios called for a medical timeout to receive treatment on his back and abdominals.
It was clear in the early stages of the second set that the Australian was struggling physically, particularly on his serve, and Auger-Aliassime took advantage of his opponent’s weakened hitting to break for a 3-1 lead, clinching it with a huge backhand return winner.
Kyrgios’ physical condition was clearly deteriorating quickly as his serve rapidly lost speed, dropping into the mid-80s MPH and he struggled to keep shots in play. Auger-Aliassime added another break before holding easily to level the match at a set apiece.
After a short discussion with the trainer, Kyrgios said he could not serve anymore and opted to retire from the match after 56 minutes of play.
Auger-Aliassime will look to reach his first major quarter-final when he takes fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the fourth round.
