Nick Kyrgios praises Philipp Kohlschreiber after early Indian Wells exit
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios dropped praise on experienced German Philipp Kohlschreiber following their BNP Paribas Open second round clash.
Kohlschreiber, 35, handed a straight-set defeat to the Australian 6-4 6-4.
The German saved four break points in the fourth game before he broke Kyrgios in the seventh game to take a 4-3 first-set lead.
The 35-year-old also saved a breakpoint in the 10th game to successfully serve out for the opener.
Kohlschreiber then broke Kyrgios in the fifth game of the second set and held on to his serve to clinch the win.
"He's an incredible competitor. He knows how to win tennis matches. I thought he -- I didn't play my best tennis today, but on certain points where I maybe had a little sniff or, like, a little chance to get into the match, he came up with a really good shot to break me in the first set. He had an unbelievable backhand cross pass, and we played a really long point," Kyrgios said of Kohlschreiber's performance post-match.
"But he's just tough. He knows how to win tennis matches. I have played him twice now, and we have beaten each other once. Just a tough match."
Kyrgios, 23, was playing in Indian Wells for the fourth time in his career.
The Australian beat world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the Indian Wells round-of-16 two years ago, before he was forced to withdraw from his quarter-final clash against Roger Federer.
"I like playing here. I have had success here before. I think the conditions suit my game. Just couldn't get anything going today. I didn't really feel comfortable on serve," Kyrgios acknowledged.
Kyrgios entered Indian Wells in a great form, having won it all at last week's Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco.
The Australian's run to the Acapulco title included wins over Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka, John Isner and Alexander Zverev.
"I was feeling good. I had, like, five days to kind of find my feet in practice and stuff. Yeah, I don't know. I don't really know. I didn't really have a problem getting up. I just didn't play well today. Yeah, that's normal," Kyrgios claimed.
However, Kyrgios' Indian Wells campaign isn't over yet as he and Taylor Fritz are due to meet Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo in the doubles round-of-16.
The Australian wants to have a bit of fun in the desert before he switches his focus to the upcoming Miami Open.
"Yeah, I mean, obviously I would have liked to have done well here, keep the momentum going from Acapulco. I mean, I'm not really thinking about Acapulco anymore. I kind of just want a couple days off," Kyrgios said.
"I'm still in doubles here. Just going to have some fun with Fritzy. That's it. I don't want to think about Miami just yet. I don't know what's going to happen, to be honest."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2HraMwM
No comments