Nick Kyrgios beats Alex de Minaur; Casper Ruud advances to Canadian Open QFs

In a 6-2, 6-3 victory, Kyrgios produced a breakthrough early as he overwhelmed his opponent to win the first four games in 11 minutes.

Nick Kyrgios continued his winning campaign on Thursday as he breezed past fellow Australian Alex de Minaur at the Canadian Open. In a 6-2, 6-3 victory, Kyrgios produced a breakthrough early as he overwhelmed his opponent to win the first four games in 11 minutes.

"Incredibly tough after yesterday's big high, playing Daniil, and the crowd was amazing. It was a day I'll probably never ever forget," ATP quoted Kyrgios saying. "Today was really hard mentally for me to go out here and play Alex. We're such good friends and he's been having such a good career so far and carrying the Australian flag for so long. It was just tough mentally. It's never easy to play a player like that, especially if they're Australian," he continued.

"I just got out here and got the job done. I played the way I had to play. He's a hell of a player. If you play to his strengths, he's one of the best players we have in the game and he's so fast. He's going to have a hell of a career." On the other hand, Casper Ruud continued his quest for a first ATP Masters 1000 title on Thursday, defeating Roberto Bautista Agut 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.

The Norwegian made a stunning recovery from a slow start as he upped his intensity in the second set to level. The fourth seed opened his shoulders in the decider to finish the job after three hours and 17 minutes to walk away with clinching a quarterfinals berth. Ruud will next play home favourite Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals.

"This win was a bit extra special. It was against a player I had never beaten before," Ruud said. "Such good quality two first sets. I didn't feel I was able to find any holes in his game, which was frustrating. He is a very tough player, one of the best over the past six, seven, and eight years. Someone, I think all young players should look up to. How professional he is and how great a fighter, runner and competitor he is," he added. (ANI)

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