After falling to Rafael Nadal in the Round of 16 at the Australian Open, Nick Kyrgios reflected on an emotional start to the season and the recent progress he has made on and off the court.

The 24-year-old pushed World No. 1 Nadal to a fourth-set tie-break in front of a vocal crowd at Rod Laver Arena, but was disappointed not to be able to level his ATP Head2Head series against the 2009 champion at 4-4.

“I’m shattered to have lost tonight… These are the matches that I want to win the most,” said Kyrgios.

Having started the 2020 ATP Tour season with a run to the semi-finals at the inaugural ATP Cup with Team Australia, Kyrgios entered the Australian Open with a 3-1 record and a growing level of support from the home crowd.

The six-time ATP Tour titlist impressed fans throughout his campaign at Melbourne Park, securing wins against Lorenzo Sonego and Gilles Simon in his opening two rounds.

But the Canberra native showcased the best of his abilities and an impressive fighting spirit in one of the matches of the tournament, shrugging off the disappointment of failing to convert match points in sets three and four to outlast Karen Khachanov in a final-set tie-break on Saturday.

“I feel like I’ve made progress as a human. A tennis player… I want to keep going in this direction, for sure,” said Kyrgios.

It was clear to see as Kyrgios entered the court on Monday evening that the news of NBA legend Kobe Bryant’s passing was at the forefront of his mind.

Kyrgios entered the Rod Laver Arena wearing Bryant’s LA Lakers jersey and had tears in his eyes in the moments before the first point of the match.

“I never met Kobe. But basketball is practically my life,” said Kyrgios. “I watch it every day. I’ve been following it for as long as I can remember.

“When I woke up to the news, it was pretty emotional. It was pretty heavy, like, all day. Obviously, I was having basketball on at my house, watching the games. I was heavy. Yeah, it’s just tough. It’s horrible news.”

Kyrgios took inspiration from Bryant during his four-set loss to Nadal, thinking about the five-time NBA champion as he battled from a break down in the fourth set to force a tie-break.

“If anything, it motivated me. If you look at the things he stood for, what he wanted to be remembered by, I felt like, if anything, it helped me tonight,” said Kyrgios. “When I was down a break in the fourth, I was definitely thinking about it. I fought back.

Bryant’s tragic death comes during a devastating period for Kyrgios’ home country, as communities across Australia continue to suffer the effects of widespread bushfires.

Kyrgios inspired many of his fellow players and the wider tennis community to come together and support bushfire relief efforts, pledging to donate AUD $200 for every ace he hit during the Australian summer. The 23rd seed landed 25 aces during his match against Nadal, raising AUD $5,000.

Kyrgios also joined forces fellow players, including Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer, for Rally For Relief. The fundraising event hosted at Rod Laver Arena five days before the tournament raised almost AUD $5 million for the Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

“If anything, [the bushfires] did fuel me and made me play harder,” said Kyrgios. “They’re still going, everything is still going.

“The last month for me has been pretty hectic, pretty emotional. I’m pretty tired. I want to try to continue to help where I can.”

Rafael Nadal moved one step closer to a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Monday, overcoming home favourite Nick Kyrgios 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4) in front of a packed crowd at Rod Laver Arena.

Nadal held serve to love on nine occasions and landed 64 winners to reach his 12th quarter-final at Melbourne Park after three hours and 38 minutes. The World No. 1 improves to 5-3 in his ATP Head2Head rivalry against Kyrgios, levelling their hard-court record at 2-2. 

Nadal has now won eight of his 10 matches this year. The 33-year-old started the 2020 ATP Tour season with a 4-2 record at the inaugural ATP Cup, leading Team Spain to the championship match (l. to Team Serbia).

As he bids to equal Roger Federer’s haul of 20 Grand Slam trophies, Nadal is also aiming to become the first man in the Open Era to win each of the four major championships on multiple occasions. The Spaniard has reached five Australian Open finals, lifting the trophy in 2009.

“It was a very tough match,” Nadal told former World No. 1 John McEnroe in an on-court interview. “In the beginning I was in control, but you’re never in control against Nick. When I made the mistake on serve in the second set, with one serve of mine, it was so difficult to break him again.

“I did the same in the fourth set, but he played a good game. I played a scary game at 5-4, it’s part of the sport and you have to accept it. I tried to recover mentally for 6-5 and then the tie-break. When he plays like today with a positive attitude, he gives a lot to the sport. He’s one of the best talents on Tour and I like the Nick Kyrgios of this tournament.”

Nadal will face Dominic Thiem for a place in the semi-finals. The Nitto ATP Finals runner-up needed just one hour and 50 minutes to reach his first quarter-final at the opening Grand Slam of the year, defeating Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-4, 6-4. Nadal leads his ATP Head2head series against Thiem 9-4, highlighted by wins in the past two Roland Garros finals.

“It will be tough, we know each other very well,” said Nadal, when asked about facing Thiem. “He’s a great character and a tough competitor. I will need to play at my best, but I feel I am moving in the right direction. I played well against Pablo two days ago and again tonight against one of the best tennis players in the world. I hope to keep going.”

The top seed made a rapid start in the opening match of the evening session, breaking Kyrgios en route to a 4-1 lead. Nadal covered the baseline well, with Kyrgios failing in his attempts to shorten points as the errors mounted. The Spaniard began to dictate rallies with his forehand as the set progressed and held serve to love after 36 minutes to move into a one-set lead.

After saving three break points in the opening game of the second set, Kyrgios raised his level. The Aussie took advantage of forehand errors to earn his first break point of the match, which he converted with a forehand passing shot that clipped the baseline. From that point, Kyrgios won 12 of 15 service points to level the match.

In the tie-break, Nadal charged the net behind forehand approaches to open a 4/1 gap. Despite forehand errors and a nervous double fault on his first set point, Nadal once again moved forward and clinched the set as Kyrgios struck a forehand into the net.

Kyrgios increased his aggression in the early stages of the fourth set, but failed to find the target. The Aussie handed Nadal a love service break at 1-1 with forehand errors and a double fault. Nadal continued to impress on serve with back-to-back love service holds, before Kyrgios stepped in and dictated rallies with his forehand to force his way to a tie-break.

After great court coverage, Nadal claimed the crucial mini-break as Kyrgios failed to clear the net with an attempted drop shot. The Spaniard closed the fourth-round encounter on his first match point, forcing Kyrgios into an error with a series of driven backhands.

Kyrgios was aiming to reach his second Australian Open quarter-final and equal his best Grand Slam result. The Aussie defeated Lorenzo Sonego and Gilles Simon in his opening two matches, before an epic final-set tie-break victory against Karen Khachanov to reach the Round of 16.

“Nick has an amazing serve and can hits his spots on serve. He can go big with the second serve too, so you don’t know what to expect. Being back, I put him in a position that he doesn’t see too much. When I return further into the court, then he’ll try to go for an ace, play aggressively. It was difficult to break tonight. I love playing here, I love the crowd as everyone understands the sport.”

Dominic Thiem advanced to the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time on Monday, cruising past No. 10 seed Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 after one hour and 50 minutes.

“I think that I played my best match so far of this Australian Open. A very, very good feeling,” Thiem said on court after his triumph. “The score looks way easier than the match was. I think I was lucky to make an early break in each set and then was managing to hold my serve well. I’m so happy because I’m for the first time in the quarter-finals here.”

Thiem arrived in Melbourne having lost two of his three matches at the inaugural ATP Cup. And in his two most recent Grand Slam appearances — at last year’s Wimbledon and the US Open — he lost in the first round. But after coming from two sets to one down against Aussie wild card Alex Bolt in the second round, Thiem has rounded into form, winning eight of his past nine sets to reach the quarter-finals.

Thiem will next face top-seeded Rafael Nadal (4-9) or Aussie Nick Kyrgios (0-1), the No. 23 seed. The Austrian has a losing ATP Head2Head record against both players.

“I couldn’t be happier to be done, to be in the quarter-finals and to watch that, relax from home. I’m also very excited for that match,” Thiem said. “Obviously it’s going to be such an entertaining contest tonight and then also in two days, it doesn’t matter who I face. So I’m really excited to watch that match and may the better one win tonight.”

Monfils walked onto Rod Laver Arena with confidence, losing only one set in his first three matches to put himself in position to play for his second trip to the last eight at Melbourne Park. But Thiem carried a 5-0 ATP Head2Head lead against the Frenchman into the match, and it showed.

Far too often, Monfils left balls in the middle of the court, allowing the heavy-hitting Thiem to push the No. 10 seed wherever he pleased. And even though Monfils is as fleet afoot as anyone on the ATP Tour, he wasn’t doing enough to push the Austrian off the baseline. When Monfils tried to up his aggression, that led to more unforced errors. And when the pair got into cat-and-mouse points, which Monfils typically excels in behind his world-class athleticism, Thiem always had the answer.

Thiem earned two breaks in the opening set to set the tone, and he never relinquished his momentum, going the entire match without facing a break point. The Austrian struck 31 winners to 19 unforced errors.

“I always played my best tennis against him, so maybe that’s one reason,” Thiem said of his success against Monfils.

At 3-3 in the second set, the physicality of the match began to show in Monfils, who hunched over after a 32-shot rally. In that same game, Monfils served and volleyed on break point, following in a kick serve to Thiem’s backhand, but he missed a backhand volley wide. From there, Thiem was off to the races.

In the first game of the third set, Monfils sprayed an inside-out forehand wide from the middle of the court wide. And Thiem won his service games the rest of the way, holding the final game to love.