Kyrgios Wins ‘One Of Better Matches I’ve Played On Clay’ In Houston

Nick Kyrgios is showing no rust on clay.

Before arriving in Houston, the Australian had not competed on the surface since 2019. However, the wild card has played well on the red dirt, and on Wednesday he defeated American Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship.

“He’s a very good player. He’s young and he’s already shown what he can do and who he can beat,” Kyrgios said in his on-court interview. “I had to be locked in today and I knew that I had to serve well. It’s probably one of the better matches I’ve played on clay in my career, so I’m pretty happy with the way I came out here today, just put my head down and went to work.”

Paul is a proven clay-court competitor, having won the 2015 Roland Garros boys’ singles title. But Kyrgios was in control throughout the 70-minute match, in which he saved all six break points he faced. The 26-year-old hit 10 aces and won 88 per cent of his first-serve points to earn a quarter-final clash against lucky loser Michael Mmoh.

“I’ve been serving really well, so I just wanted to keep to good habits,” Kyrgios said.

The American, who moved into the draw when Casper Ruud withdrew due to tooth pain, defeated countryman Sam Querrey 6-2, 6-4 in 75 minutes. Mmoh will try to reach his first ATP Tour semi-final.

Top Seeds Ebden/Purcell Advance In Doubles
Australian Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell, who made this year’s Australian Open final, cruised past home favourites Steve Johnson and Querrey 6-2, 6-2 to earn a spot in the quarter-finals. The second seeds, however, did not have the same success.

Americans Robert Galloway and Jackson Withrow upset Mexico’s Santiago Gonzalez and former doubles World No. 1 Lukasz Kubot 6-4, 6-4. Serbian twins Ivan Sabanov and Matej Sabanov also advanced with a 3-6, 6-3, 10-7 win against Treat Huey and Denis Kudla.