Nick Kyrgios powers past Benjamin Bonzi in 4 sets to reach US Open third round

NEW YORK — Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios powered past Benjamin Bonzi of France to reach the third round of the US Open with a hard-fought 7-6 (3), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win on Wednesday.

The big-serving 23rd seed struck 30 aces and broke Bonzi for a fourth time on match point to end the punishing match under the lights at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

«His level today was incredible; I was not expecting an absolute war,» Kyrgios said of Bonzi in an on-court interview. «That could have gone either way. He was up a break early in the fourth, but I played some really risky tennis late in the fourth set to win. I'm just happy to get through.»

In their first career meeting, the pair exchanged breaks in the first set, before Kyrgios captured it in a tiebreak and broke early in the second to cruise to a 2-0 lead.

Bonzi responded by taking the third set and went up a break in the fourth, before Kyrgios stepped up his game, breaking Bonzi's serve for a fourth time.

Kyrgios complained about the smell of marijuana during the match on Louis Armstrong, saying afterward he was a heavy asthmatic and that when he was running side to side and struggling to breathe that the smell was «probably not something I want to be breathing in in between points.''

He overcame it to set up a third-round meeting with American J.J. Wolf, who battled past Alejandro Tabilo 4-6 7-5 6-4 6-3 earlier in the day.

Also on Wednesday, John Isner withdrew from the tournament with a wrist injury, sending No. 28 seed Holger Rune into the third round with a walkover.

The 37-year-old Isner won his first-round match in straight sets on Tuesday. The U.S. Tennis Association announced his withdrawal Wednesday night.

Rune took a set from Novak Djokovic last year in his US Open