Nick Kyrgios overcame a conduct violation and a first-set loss to oust second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 victory at the ATP 500 Halle Open.
After a strong second set to level the match, the World No. 65 clinched a crucial break late in the deciding set to seal a quarter-final spot on his tournament debut after a two-hour, five-minute encounter.
The win lifts Kyrgios to No. 52 in the ATP Live Rankings while another win would return him to the world’s Top 50 for the first time since March 2021.
Kyrgios continued his sharp start at the Halle Open against Tsitsipas but only after the Greek had prevailed in a high-quality first set to test his resolve.
A tight start saw Tsitsipas raise his level to win the first set on the sixth set-point before Kyrgios bounced back, breaking the Greek twice in the second to send the match into a deciding set.
Both players saved break points in the decider before Kyrgios found a crucial break for 5-4 and served out to love to take the match.
Kyrgios next faces Pablo Carreno Busta, after he defeated Sebastian Korda 6-4, 0-6, 6-3 earlier on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the World no.1, Daniil Medvedev completed an impressive 6-3, 6-2 win over David Goffin.
The US Open champion needed just 64 minutes to reach the second round at Halle Open for the first time in his career.
He also avenged his previous loss to the Belgian on grass which came at Wimbledon 2019.
With Medvedev banned from this year’s tournament at Wimbledon, Halle may be his only realistic shot at a grass-court trophy this season.
