Nick Kyrgios plays strange match against Alexandr Dolgopolov in Brisbane

NICK Kyrgios is still Nick Kyrgios. The Aussie star’s thrilling Brisbane International quarter-final was complete madness.

Nick Kyrgios was up to his unpredictable tricks.

IT WAS vintage Nick Kyrgios in his bizarre quarter-final clash against Alexandr Dolgopolov at the Brisbane International on Friday afternoon.

Booming serves and scintillating ground strokes were punctuated with the usual lapses in concentration we’ve come to expect from the young Aussie.

But he got it done when it mattered.

The No. 1 ranked Aussie male dug deep to move through to the Brisbane International semi-finals, coming from behind 1-6 6-3 6-4 in a trademark rollercoaster.

World No. 21 Kyrgios — ranked 17 spots higher than his opponent — looked lethargic early with his troublesome left knee strapped as former Brisbane finalist Dolgopolov broke twice to clinch the first set in 22 minutes.

But the dual grand slam quarterfinalist held his nerve to book a semi-final showdown with the winner of Friday night’s clash between top seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria and Briton Kyle Edmund.

Kyrgios’ first set horror show gave every indication his stay on court would be brief.

At one stage he even looked away from the ball and into the stands as he hit an approach shot, not bothering to keep an eye on where his opponent was moving.

There were no temper tantrums or code violations, but it just looked like Kyrgios didn’t want to be out there.

“This is a bizarre beginning to the set from Kyrgios,” a Channel Seven commentator said. “It’s full of the good, the bad and the ugly.”

The Nick Kyrgios tank job is a glorious thing to see live.

— Justin Bryant (@Keepers_Union) January 5, 2018

But the second set was the complete opposite as the 22-year-old took just 25 minutes to level the match up with a 6-3 romp.

“Unpredictable is a word you could use to describe this match,” Aussie tennis legend Todd Woodbridge said in commentary.

Despite his improvement Kyrgios didn’t look to be enjoying himself too much. After Dolgopolov won his service game to go up 2-1 in the third set, the Aussie hothead hit his left thigh, looking down at it and yelling.

The set was going on serve at 3-3 but Kyrgios showed some positive emotion, letting rip with a fist pump and some words of encouragement when he secured a break point opportunity. He missed his first chance but didn’t make the same mistake twice, taking a 4-3 lead.

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 @NickKyrgios

Breaks. pic.twitter.com/jQZJX2wjWb

— #7TENNIS 🎾 (@7tennis) January 5, 2018

From there he was at his entertaining best and wrapped up the match in 90 minutes.

TEEN GUN KEEPS IMPRESSING

The Demon.

AUSTRALIAN wildcard Alex De Minaur has continued his impressive winning run, booking a Brisbane International semi-final berth with a 6-4 6-0 victory over American qualifier Michael Mmoh on Friday.

World No. 208 De Minaur — ranked 33 spots lower than his opponent — out-muscled 19-year-old Mmoh in the first set before cruising through the second in just 25 minutes at Pat Rafter Arena.

De Minaur, 18, booked a semi-final against the winner of Friday night’s clash between Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin and American Ryan Harrison.

Sydney-born, Spain-based De Minaur was backing up from his shock straight sets second round win over former world No. 3 Milos Raonic.

Asked how he felt after booking a semi-final berth, De Minaur said: “Just disbelief, really.

“There were a lot of nerves coming into this match, it was a big opportunity for me.

“But I came in here a little more level headed, had more time to play, and was able to play my best tennis.”

With mentor Lleyton Hewitt screaming encouragement courtside, De Minaur saved three break points in the sixth game to finally find his range and clinch the first set in 49 minutes with a booming forehand winner.

The second set became a blur as De Minaur dominated, thrashing 17 total winners to Mmoh’s nine.

De Minaur — who has a Spanish mum and Uruguayan father — also feasted on Mmoh’s 26 unforced errors.

The loss ended a spirited run by Saudi Arabia-born and raised Mmoh, who is the son of a Nigerian former tennis player and an Irish-Australian nurse.

— AAP