Enigmatic tennis star Nick Kyrgios lit up the Australian Open Wednesday night, coming back from the dead to snatch victory in his second round encounter with Frenchman Ugo Humbert.
The Australian was staring down two match points in the fourth set, but held his nerve, producing some stunning shots to force a deciding fifth set and send the home crowd into a frenzy.
Kyrgios channelled all his big match experience, claiming the final set 6-4 to secure the stunning 5-7 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 victory.
A combination of the "insane" atmosphere and fear of media backlash helped spur him to victory, Kyrgios said.
"That match was a crazy one. I've been a part of a lot of matches, but that's one of those more memorable ones.
"I'm still in awe of the atmnosphere, the stadium didn't feel half full that's for sure. The atmosphere was insane.
"Match point down, second round exit, I was almost afraid. Afraid of coming into this room, go to my Airbnb and read about it and take all the negativity in that I have already taken.
"It's not easy to come back and try put it all behind."
It could have been so much different for the Australian.
His frustrations continued to boil over as the prospect of defeat loomed, smashing his racquet and arguing with the umpire over what he believed to be a malfunctioning net-cord detection device.
But he refused to go down easy.
"Many people don't think I have a heart, or don't compete as hard as they want me to compete.
"I didn't just put my hand in the lucky dip and appear here."
Kyrgios will now face 2020 Open finalist Dominic Thiem in the third round on Friday.
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