Nick Kyrgios survives six match points to overcome Frances Tiafoe at Citi Open

Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios fought off six match points during a second-set tiebreaker against hometown favourite Frances Tiafoe, then raced past him in the third set to win 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 at the Citi Open on Friday night.

In the first meeting between the players, Kyrgios allowed the first set to slip away with some mental lapses, then frustrated Tiafoe during the lengthy second-set tiebreak, which concluded with the Maryland native slamming his racket onto the court and kicking it.

“Frances put himself in every position to win the match. You know, in those moments I wasn’t really thinking too much. I was just trying to stay in the match and I survived,” Kyrgios said “Then, you know, I felt like physically I was really fresh in the third set and served well.”

The hard-court US Open tuneup in Washington is the first tournament for Kyrgios since he lost in four sets to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. The mercurial Australian improved his match record this year to 21-7 and advanced to his fifth semi-final, where he will face Mikael Ymer, a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 winner over Sebastian Korda.

Kyrgios won his most recent ATP title at Washington in 2019.

Andrey Rublev. AFP

Because of weather delays, top-seeded Andrey Rublev played two matches on Friday, winning them both. He rallied in a second-set tiebreak to beat Maxime Cressy 6-4, 7-6 in the afternoon and then dispatched American wild card JJ Wolf 6-2, 6-3 in the evening to reach the semi-finals.

“It's part of the sport. I think that's the fun thing about it, that you don't know what to expect,” Rublev said. “Suddenly you will have two matches in one day.”

Rublev is seeking his fourth ATP title this year, which would draw him even with Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz for