Stefanos Tsitsipas lost a fiery four-set match against Nick Kyrgios on Saturday at Wimbledon, but the Greek departs London in good position for the rest of the season.

The 23-year-old is guaranteed to lead the ATP Tour in wins after Wimbledon with 42, regardless of results for the rest of the fortnight. The World No. 5 went 8-3 during his grass-court season, including a run to his first tour-level title on the surface in Mallorca.

2022 Match Wins Leaders (as of 2 July)

Tsitsipas is second in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin as he aims to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the fourth consecutive year. Tsitsipas lifted his biggest trophy at the season finale in 2019, when the event was held at The O2 in London. 

In addition to his recent triumph in Mallorca, Tsitsipas claimed his second ATP Masters 1000 title at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters in April and made the final of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.

The Greek fell short on No. 1 Court at the All England Club against an in-form Kyrgios, who now leads the pair’s ATP Head2Head series 4-1. Despite the tension in the match, Tsitsipas held a set point in the fourth-set tie-break. If he converted the opportunity, it would have pushed the match to a deciding set in front of the London crowd.

“I enjoyed my tennis today. I enjoyed the atmosphere out there,” Tsitsipas said. “I enjoyed the way I fought and the way I tried to find solutions.”

Nick Kyrgios advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time since 2016 on Saturday with a feisty 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7) victory against fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Kyrgios, who will next play #NextGenATP American Brandon Nakashima, took a 4-1 ATP Head2Head series lead against Tsitsipas and now owns 25 wins against Top 10 opponents (25-39). The 27-year-old will try to reach his third major quarter-final and his first since the 2015 Australian Open.

“Honestly it was a hell of an atmosphere, amazing match. I honestly felt like the favourite coming in. I played him a couple weeks ago. But I knew that it was going to be a tough match,” Kyrgios said in his on-court interview. “He’s a hell of a player. I had my own tactics out there and he knows how to play me, he’s beaten me once. Obviously I’ve had success. It was a hell of a match.”

The tension began to build at the end of the first set following a linesperson’s out call on the baseline. For the rest of the match, Kyrgios had constant discussions with the chair umpire, the crowd and his player’s box. But ultimately, he emerged victorious after three hours and 16 minutes.

“I’m just super happy to be through. He was getting frustrated at times and it’s a frustrating sport, that’s for sure,” Kyrgios said. “I have the ultimate respect for him. Whatever happens on the court [is] on the court. I love him and I’m close with his brother.”

Tsitsipas was the more solid player in the first-set tie-break, as Kyrgios let his lack of concentration affect his play. That continued into the second set, with Kyrgios losing his focus and spending much of his time voicing his displeasure between points and during changeovers.

The Australian later received an audible obscenity warning after another linesperson made a report to the chair umpire. But through it all, Kyrgios managed to remain in touch with the fourth seed on the scoreboard, largely thanks to his big serving. He did not lose his serve in the match, saving all five break points he faced.

Kyrgios saved a break point at 4-4 in the second set thanks to a daring second-serve ace. Then suddenly, he claimed the second set when a Tsitsipas overhead, which the Greek did not strike cleanly, allowed Kyrgios to punch a forehand into the open court for a winner.

In a sign of his frustration, as the players walked towards their chairs, Tsitsipas jabbed a backhand low into the crowd, barely missing fans with the ball.

While the dialogue continued during the third set, Tsitsipas lost concentration and his game began to falter, which allowed Kyrgios to surge ahead with a break at 2-1 behind a forehand winner. Later in the set, Kyrgios hit an underarm serve. Tsitsipas reached the ball, but hit with great force into netting behind the court, for which he received a point penalty.

The 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion appeared to aim shots in the direction of the Australian. On the other side of the court, Kyrgios continued to talk between points and curtsied to the crowd at 5-3 in the third set following a winning drop shot. After hitting a crisp backhand volley winner to claim the set on the next point, he made a “money” motion with his hand in praise of his own work.

The chatter began to taper off as the fourth set went on. Then at 4-4, the roof on No. 1 Court was closed due to darkness.

It all led to a critical fourth-set tie-break. The Australian let slip his first match point at 6/5 by missing an inside-out forehand wide, and he then saved a Tsitsipas set point at 6/7, which would have forced a decider. But another key forehand drop shot finished the job for Kyrgios.

Less than a month ago, Kyrgios also defeated the Greek in Halle. The six-time ATP Tour titlist is now 10-2 this grass-court season, having also reached the semi-finals in Stuttgart and Halle. The Australian made his first big splash on the ATP Tour at Wimbledon in 2014, when as a 19-year-old he defeated Rafael Nadal en route to the quarter-finals.

Did You Know?
This was Kyrgios’ first Top 10 win at a major since he defeated then-World No. 8 Milos Raonic in the third round of Wimbledon in 2015.

Rafael Nadal wasted little time in booking his place in the Wimbledon fourth round on Saturday evening, racing past Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.

In his best performance of the week, the Spaniard lit up Centre Court with his aggressive striking and all-court game. The 36-year-old blasted the ball past Sonego from all angles, while demonstrating deft touches at the net to advance after two hours and four minutes.

“It was probably my best match without a doubt here at The Championships against the most difficult player I have faced yet,” Nadal said in his on-court interview. “I was able to raise my level, so I am super happy for that. I wish Lorenzo all the very best for the rest of the season.”

The display was a contrast to Nadal’s first two matches at The Championships, where he struggled to find his best level in four-set victories over Francisco Cerundolo and Ricardas Berankis. However, against Sonego, the World No. 4 showed his title rivals that he means business in his quest for a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam title.

“I made I think a lot of things much better than the previous days: the determination, the way that I managed to play more aggressive, going to the net plenty of times,” Nadal said. “[I am] happy. It’s [a] good victory against a great player. Very happy for that.”

Nadal arrived in London – where is looking to clinch a third Wimbledon crown – having won the first two majors of the season for the first time in his career. The World No. 4, who is now 33-3 on the season, will next play Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in a rematch of their recent Roland Garros clash as he looks to continue his unbeaten 2022 Slam record.

“He’s a player that has been improving unbelievably the last year. [It] was a good challenge in the French and I think he will be more, [difficult here],” Nadal said. “He’s a complete player with a lot of great things, and I need to keep going the way that I played today: playing aggressive and playing with the right energy. Let’s see. He’s a tough opponent, but we are in fourth round. That’s the way that it should be.” 

Nadal flew out of the blocks against Sonego in their first ATP Head2Head meeting, pulling the Italian from corner to corner with his heavy forehand. The Spaniard took the ball early off both wings to take time away from Sonego, firing 14 winners across the first two sets to gain full control.

With his foot on the gas, Nadal continued to dictate in the third set, flattening out his backhand to cause Sonego more trouble. With Nadal leading 4-2, the roof was closed due to fading light. When they returned, the Spaniard’s concentration briefly dipped, with Sonego breaking back to level at 4-4. However, all this did was fire up Nadal, with the second seed increasing his depth on return to break back immediately, before he held to advance to the fourth round at The All England Lawn Tennis Club for the 10th time.

“I feel very lucky that I am still able to play at my age,” Nadal said. “I never thought that was going to happen 10 years ago. So just want to say thanks to all for supporting me.”

Sonego, who overcame Denis Kudla and Hugo Gaston earlier this week, was aiming to reach the last 16 at Wimbledon for the second time, having enjoyed a run to that stage in 2021.

Brandon Nakashima may have been in unchartered territory at Wimbledon on Saturday, but the #NextGenATP American did not blink.

The 20-year-old backed up his second-round upset of 2021 semi-finalist Denis Shapovalov with a confident 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 against Daniel Elahi Galan. Nakashima had not won a match at the grass-court major prior to his first-round victory against Nicola Kuhn, but he is now the youngest American man to reach the Round of 16 at Wimbledon since Andy Roddick in 2003.

Nakashima joins Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, and Taylor Fritz in the fourth round. That represents the most American men in the last 16 at the All England Lawn Tennis Club since 1999, and the most to reach the fourth round at a major since the 2011 US Open.

“I think we’re sending a message that we have a lot of depth and there’s a lot of strong players that are coming up, constantly improving,” said No. 11 seed Fritz, when asked about the strong American showing after his third-round victory against Alex Molcan.

“I’ve said this before. I guess we don’t necessarily have all the attention because we don’t have a current Grand Slam champion, a current guy that’s 1, 2, 3 in the world, but we’ve got six or seven guys that are in the Top 40 that are all young. Four guys in the Round of 16, and we could have more. We have a lot of depth and we have a lot of guys that are constantly getting better.”

Nakashima, who reached the semi-finals at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan last November, is into the fourth round of a major for the first time. The World No. 56 won 84 per cent (43/51) of points behind his first delivery and faced just one break point in his maiden ATP Head2Head meeting with Galan.

He faces a tough fourth-round assignment if he wants to extend his run at SW19 further — he next meets fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or Nick Kyrgios.

Fritz equalled his best Grand Slam result in style with a comfortable 6-4, 6-1, 7-6(3) triumph against Molcan. The 24-year-old only previous run to the second week of a major was at January’s Australian Open.

The American No. 1 Fritz built up some form on the grass last week at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne, where he lifted the title for the second time at the ATP 250 event without dropping serve. His delivery was tuned in once again against Molcan, as he fired 20 aces and won 86 per cent (50/58) of points behind his first serve to make it nine from nine sets won in his Wimbledon campaign.

“He [Molcan] didn’t really get to play,” said Fritz in his post-match press conference. “It was one of the best serving matches I’ve ever had. When I play like that, it frees up the rest of my game to just go after the ball, just play really confident tennis because I know I’m getting these free points on my serve.”

Fritz next faces Jason Kubler, after the Australian came through five-set tussle with Jack Sock to keep his dream run at the All England Lawn Tennis Club alive. In a clash between two 29-year-old qualifiers, it was Kubler who found something extra at the tail end of a four-hour, 15-minute epic. The World No. 99 broke in the first and ninth games of the deciding set to round out a 6-2, 4-6, 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3 victory.

Cristian Garin held off a fightback from 29th seed Jenson Brooksby to register a 6-2, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 victory and reach the fourth round at Wimbledon for the second consecutive year.

Former World No. 17 Garin broke the Brooksby serve six times in a two-hour, 51-minute encounter. The Chilean had suffered first-round defeats on the grass in Halle and Eastbourne prior to arriving at SW19, but he now meets Alex de Minaur in the last 16, after the Australian eased past British qualifier Liam Broady, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.