Australian Open 2020 scores, results: Nick Kyrgios def Gilles Simon, meltdown

Is this the new Nick Kyrgios? Up two sets to love, an all too-familiar meltdown looked set to ruin his chances against Frenchman Gilles Simon. Then, something we've rarely seen happened. RE-CAP DAY FOUR ACTION

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NICK Kyrgios just had to "cut the bulls..t".

It was the tale of two Nicks.

Fun, then fire.

With a few other ‘F’ words to throw in there, too.

SCROLL DOWN TO FOLLOW THE FINAL DAY FOUR MATCHES

Kyrgios showed what he is really made of in a stark warning to the rest of the Australian Open field.

And then threatened to throw it all away.

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Nick Kyrgios punches the air after his inspiring win.

And at times it was scary.

His power, his touch, his smarts.

It was the trifecta, with the added bonuses of flourish and flair with a tweener to boot, too.

At 4-2 up in the third set, it all seemed easy. A walk in Melbourne Park.

But Simon was having none of that, and with Kyrgios’ wandering mind only assisting him, the Frenchman hung in.

A desperate salvage mission in the fourth set saw him re-engaged, in a moment Kyrgios admits could have been a turning point.

"I just put my head down ... I lost my way a little bit in the third set, and I just put my head down and told myself 'just cut the bulls..t and get to work'," he said.

"I got the break at five-all and it was a good feeling to get through that.

"I was 13 in the world ... possibly (that was a match I could have previously thrown away).

"I did come back from two sets to love down on that court four years ago ... but it could have gone to a dark place, and I brought it back and I somehow scraped the win.

"Maturity? I don't know. I'm just happy to get the win."

Nick Kyrgios is through to the third round.

Assured a third round berth with a 6-2 6-4 4-6 7-5 win, it wasn’t without a few fireworks – mostly directed at his player box, which didn’t give enough support, and when it did, it wasn’t the right kind.

"Of all the things you could say on break point, 'stay tough'," he yelled.

"That's what I get, every break point, 'stay tough'...wow."

"It's s..."So creative, so creative."

When they ramped up their support a short time later, there was more.

“You’re pissing me off,” he barked.

“Sit down. I don’t care anymore. Sit down. You’re an hour too late. 38 minutes too late.”

Nick Kyrgios did a lot of talking to his player box.

Kyrgios later apologised for the verbal barrage directed at his player box and said he would not need to discuss what support he needed from them while on court. 

"I was being a bit of a dickhead to them," he admitted. 

"I apologized as soon as I went back into the locker room. They don't deserve that. They do a lot of things for me on and off the court."No, it's not acceptable from me. Nothing to do with them."

Lleyton Hewitt, Australia's Davis Cup captain, has sat in the front row of Kyrgios' support team so far this grand slam and the 24-year-old said he was "good for support". 

As the pieces fell apart, Kyrgios managed to gather them and glue them back together to secure passage, but he maintained that he is looking no further than Saturday.

“I’m not thinking ahead,” he said.

“There’s a lot of Aussies still in the draw, too. There’s a lot of great players. But I’m just taking it one match at a time at the moment.” 

His 28 aces further boosted his donation to bushfire victims by another $5600. 

"I woke up this morning and there's some fires going on that were pretty close to Canberra, so it was pretty tough to see," Kyrgios said. 

"The whole tennis world is behind it now - not just me - and I think everyone deserves a bit of praise."

Originally published as Australian Open 2020 scores, results: Nick Kyrgios def Gilles Simon, meltdown