Nick Kyrgios fights off shoulder pain to beat Brandon Nakashima

Nick Kyrgios is through to the quarter-finals of Wimbledon after a five-set victory over Brandon Nakashima.

The Australian came into the match off the back of his controversial and fiery encounter with Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday, with the Greek calling his opponent a ‘bully’ after a four-set loss.

Kyrgios called for Tsitsipas to be defaulted after he hit a ball into the crowd on Court No.1, but the match continued and he eventually won 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6, progressing to the fourth round of the competition.

He will now face Cristian Garin in the quarter-finals, having beaten Nakashima 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2.

The early games proved straightforward for both players, with Kyrgios and Nakashima looking comfortable when serving. However, the first set would soon fall to the American. Kyrgios was serving to make it five games all, but soon enough the Aussie was 40-0 down and despite a late point, Nakashima was there to seal the game and subsequently the opening set.

Although Kyrgios appeared to be holding his right shoulder in discomfort throughout periods of the second, it did not deter him from making it one set all. He broke his opponent in the third game and went on to win 6-4, albeit rather gingerly as he took some painkillers for his shoulder pain.

Halfway through the third set, the 27-year-old was tended to by a physio in a medical time-out. He was soon back on though and it went to 6-6, meaning a tiebreaker was required. Nakashima couldn’t hold his opponent off, and Kyrgios took the third set.

However, it soon became two sets all. Nakashima broke in the seventh game and soon took the advantage in the latter stages. Kyrgios was serving to give himself some extra hope, but he threw it away and allowed his opponent to send the match to a fifth and final set.

The Australian sealed an early break after an entertaining deuce at the beginning of the set, before breaking for the second time soon after. At 5-2 Kyrgios was serving for the match, and he eventually sealed the win with a calm forehand volley close to the net.

He will now compete in his first Slam quarter-final for the first time in seven years, with his last outing coming in the 2015 Australian Open.

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