Andy Murray and Nick Kyrgios will play in the Australian Open quarterfinals on Rod Laver Arena at 7pm on Tuesday 27 January. Here are some interesting facts and stats to help you get warmed up for the match.
Murray and Kygrios have only played once before at the 2014 Rogers Cup, Toronto, Canada. Murray won this hard court encounter convincingly 6-2, 6-2 in 55 minutes.
Murray has played ten previous competitive matches against Australians and won them all.
Murray has 31 career singles titles including US Open champion in 2012 and Wimbledon champion in 2013. Murray was the first British winner of the Wimbledon men’s singles in 77 years.
At 19, Kygrios is the youngest man to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals in 25 years. This will be his first match on RLA during AO2015, having played his previous matches on Margaret Court Arena, Court 3 and Hisense Arena with incredible crowd support in all matches.
Kyrgios won the 2014 Newcombe Medal, awarded to Australia’s most outstanding elite tennis player of the year.
Current Ranking
Murray is the British men’s No.1 and his current ATP world ranking is six.
Kyrgios is the Australian men’s No.1 with an ATP ranking of 53.
Path to the 2015 Australian Open quarterfinal
Kyrgios has dropped four more sets than Murray on the way to the quarterfinal. Two of Kyrgios’ matches have been big five setters.
Kyrgios has spent 11 hours, nearly 1.5 hours longer, on court than Murray (9 hours 33 minutes) in reaching their quarterfinal match. The length of each match is shown in brackets below.
First Round
Murray d Yuki Bhambri 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (2 hours 13 minutes)
Kyrgios d Federico Delbonis 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 (3 hours 8 minutes)
Second Round
Murray d Marinko Matosevic 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 (1 hour 42 minutes)
Kyrgios d Ivo Karlovic 7-6, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 (2 hours 20 minutes)
Third Round
Murray d Joao Sousa 6-1, 6-1, 7-5 (2 hours 6 minutes)
Kyrgios d Malek Jaziri 6-3, 7-6, 6-1 (1 hour 58 minutes)
Fourth Round
Murray d Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, 7-5 (3 hours 32 minutes)
Kyrgios d Andreas Seppi 5-7, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 8-6 (3 hours 34 minutes)
2014 Grand Slam Performance
Murray
Australian Open – lost in the quarterfinals to Roger Federer
Roland Garros – lost to Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals
Wimbledon – lost in the quarterfinals to Grigor Dimitrov
US Open – lost in the quarterfinals to Novak Djokovic
Kyrgios
Australian Open – lost in the second round to Benoit Paire
Roland Garros – defeated by Milos Raonic in the first round
Wimbledon – lost to Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals
US Open – lost in the third round to Tommy Robredo
Nick Kygrios during his round 3 match v Jaziri
Injuries
Both Murray and Kyrgios have had problems with their backs. Murray had back surgery late in 2013, which impacted his training and form in 2014. Kyrgios hurt his back in preparation for the 2015 Hopman Cup, leading to his withdrawal from that event.
With three time Australian Open finalist Murray on court with showman Kyrios in front of his home crowd, however it plays out, it promises to be hours of entertainment and quality tennis.
Any predictions for the final scoreline between Murray and Kyrgios?
Until Next Time
Grand Slam Gal