Nick Kyrgios has delivered a masterclass to upset Novak Djokovic and confirm himself as one of the most exciting prospects in world tennis. Untouchable on serve, Kyrgios crunched 25 aces in just two sets to storm into the Mexican Open semi-finals with a commanding 7-6 (11-9) 7-5 victory over the shellshocked 12-time grand slam champion.

“It’s a big win,” Kyrgios said. “I was a little bit nervous because I’m sure the crowd was rooting for Novak. He’s one of the greatest players of all time but I’m playing with confidence. My serve is the best part of my game and I had one of my best serving matches tonight.”

Aside from reaching his second ATP semi-final in as many weeks, Kyrgios joined his Davis Cup captain and mentor Lleyton Hewitt in the rarest of clubs as the only two players to have conquered grand slam giants Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic in their first tour-level match-ups.

While Federer, Nadal and Djokovic were all teenage up and comers when Hewitt first beat them, the trio are now bonafide legends of the game, with 44 grand slam singles titles between them and a combined 666 weeks as world No1s. Kyrgios announced his arrival on the world stage with a thunderous fourth-round win over Nadal in 2014 on Wimbledon’s hallowed centre court before upending Federer on clay in Madrid the following year.

The mercurial youngster’s stunning victory over Djokovic on yet another different surface confirms his status as a grand slam champion in waiting. At just 21, Kyrgios is also the youngest player to have snared the scalps of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, though his success over Murray came last year at the non-sanctioned Hopman Cup.

Bidding to reach his first final of the season, world No.17 Kyrgios faces unseeded American Sam Querrey, who earlier on Friday (AEDT) took out fourth-seeded Dominic Thiem 6-1 7-5. “He is a big-serving American. I played him before and I know what to expect,” Kyrgios said.

The other semi-final will feature two-time champion and second seed Nadal against third seed Marin Cilic. Nadal extended his winning streak in Acapulco to 13 matches with a 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 defeat of Yoshihito Nishioka. Cilic cruised into the last four without picking up a racquet after American Steve Johnson withdrew because of a right ankle injury.



