Garin struggles to articulate how he feels, which makes sense because how on earth can you? I know I’m kind of dismissing myself here, but the words to describe coming back from two sets down to reach your first major quarter, the first man from your country to do so in 13 years? Yes, good luck with that. He told us that Wimbledon was his favorite tournament, he tried to be aggressive in the breaker and he worked for it all his life. God, what a feeling that must be. He says De Minaur is one of the best grass players and when clay is believed to be his favorite surface, he says grass is now. He is a wonderful young man and I am very happy for him.
Is Garin Chili-an or Chilai-an tangential? I’m going with the former, but partly because saying Chilay-an sickens them.
Cristian Garín defeated Alex De Minaur [19] 2-6 5-7 7-6(3) 6-4 7-6(6)!
What a comeback and what a match! The couple’s stones, wheels and lungs! De Minaur looked the better player for much of the match and much of the decider, but when it came to pressure, Garin found the better length and weight of the shot. He looks shaken, elated and shocked, rightly so, and will meet either Kyrgios or Nakashima next.
Eeeesh, De Minaur rakes an ugly forehand long and suddenly the end looks close. Now Garin will serve at 8-5, an unlikely victory, almost his…
Four straight points put Garin at 7-5 and he is just three points away from a quarter against either Kyrgios or Nakashima.
By the way, Fritz won the first set against Kubler 6-3; Kübler took a medical leave of absence.
De Minaur, meanwhile, not only retaliated against Garin, but took the advantage for himself as we neared the four-thirty hour mark. Except then he goes long, twice, and we’re locked at 5-5.
The way Kyrgios attacked this breaker, with such focused ferocity, was compelling to watch. There was nothing Nakashima could do – the power and accuracy were beyond anything he could offer, and judging by the kipper on him, he knew it too.
Kyrgios returns with a backhand Photo: James Vesey/REX/Shutterstock
Updated at 15.40 BST
Oh man, Kyrgios is so special when he’s special, lasering a backhand return down the line for 6-2 before hitting a stunning forehand to take the set and dematerialize the tiebreak! He leads 4-6 6-4 7-6(2) and do we think the shoulder might be in order, folks?
Updated at 15.35 BST
Kyrgios gets the first mini-break, which, given the way he’s serving and serving, might be enough. Nakashima got close to 2-3, but when Kyrgios went he hit a brutal ace… speaking of which, Garin unleashed a killer forehand during a brutal rally that he capitalized on the first mini-break of this break. He leads 3-2.
A love hold for Kyrgios means we get a third-set breaker, while on Court 2 Garin almost fights through a nervous service-game for a super-duper-breaker-decider. Oh yeah!
By the way, this is all happening in Edgbaston.
A spectator watches the England vs India cricket match on his phone during the match between Nakashima and Kyrgios. Photo: Aaron Chown/Pennsylvania
Updated at 15.40 BST
Superb stones from De Minaur who marches through a pair for his hold. However, Garin made his final challenge early in the game, so when he didn’t like the service winner that won him, he had no way to object except with stares and grunts.
… so saves the first break point with an ace and the second with a serve out followed by a forehand in the corner. Meanwhile, Kyrgios holds 5-5 in the third, but it’s not exactly if he thinks Nakashima played a decent shot.
De Minaur did not recover after the break and quickly lost 5-5 and 15-40…
Kyrgios looks in trouble here, clutching his hand as Nakashima holds for 5-4. In the reports, they wondered if a different type of personality would have masked their discomfort, citing the feats of endurance performed by Hewitt and Nadal, but that depends as much on the nature of the injury as mental strength.
Kyrgios appears to have problems with his shoulder. Photo: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Updated at 15.22 BST
Oh man, diving behind the baseline to try to return the aforementioned, De Minaur scrapes his hand and has a maroon, so we have a little break while he sorts himself out.
Alex de Minaur dives to get to the ball. Photo: Toby Melville/Reuters De Minaur receives medical treatment on his finger. Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP
Updated at 15.29 BST
But De Minaur lands a forehand, then Garin finds a huge serve, clearing with a forehand of similar proportions, so we go to deuce.
Hello! De Minaur reaches 15-40 and already has two match points!
Updated at 15.12 BST
Which is to say that yes, there are Australian men in every one of our featured matches, De Minaur noted that he never saw Kubler in a bad mood. He will be in one himself, however, if he loses to Garin after leading from two sets to love, but he leads 5-4 in the decider and still looks the more likely winner. Kyrgios, meanwhile, has more shoulder treatment at 3-4 in the third set.
As the No. 1 seed, Fritz won the first three games. one of them rest. Kuebler, his opponent, is a 29-year-old Australian who has recently started to reach his potential – he is a former junior world No. 1.
The BBC shows us an interesting graphic, noting that the consistency of Kyrgios’ ball toss is what makes his serve so easy: it means he knows where it’s going to be, and also that it’s almost impossible for his opponent to read it. But he pulled the trainer out by his shoulder, so we have a little break with Nakashima leading 3-2 in the third.
At number 1, Kubler and Fritz are far away, and what an opportunity this is for them. The winner here meets either Nadal or Van der Zandshulp in the quarters.
Back in the center, we’re serving in set three, Kyrgios storming through another sloppy love hold for 2-2. It’s hard to look past him right now because his serve is so reliable that even if we go to breakers, you’ll be rooting for him.
A net backhand put De Minaur up 15-30 but Garin fought to hold, then De Minaur raced through a love hold for 3-2 in the fifth. He’s serving really well again now, so I’d back him to see this one home, but a couple of decent returns or a double and some sort of second serve is all that will make those words look silly.
On Court 3, ninth seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares lost the first set on a break to seventh seeds John Pearce and Filip Polasek.
I say it, but here we are at 30-all … so here comes a booming serve, giving Kyrgios set point; delivery in the body, return to the net and that’s one set each! Will class and experience take over or can Nakashima reassert himself?
And yes, De Minaur secures a breakthrough. It was a really great match at which point we are in the center where Kyrgios is now serving at 4-6 5-4. I don’t know how many points Nakashima won by receiving in this set, but it’s not many.
“Hopefully you’re attracting a good number of Australian tennis fans right now,” emails John Murphy, “as Channel Nine has shifted De Minaur’s interesting match to televise the lower-ranked player for the hopefuls some drama. I would like to watch the rest of the quality match that I had seen from the beginning. Please keep us posted.”
I understand why they did it, but Kyrgios is also a very good player, just as this De Minaur-Garin match is dramatic. At that point, Garin broke in the opening game of the fifth set… though he now trailed 0-30, hoping to consolidate.
Next up at No. 1: Jason Kubler vs. Taylor Fritz.
At the second question, Garin served out in set four to level the match 2-6 5-7 7-6(3) 6-4. De Minaur doesn’t seem demoralized by letting go of his lead, though, so I’d expect him to be at his best in this final set.
Garin returns the ball to De Minaur. Photo: Sébastien Bozon/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 14.38 BST
Rybakina thanks everyone who came to support us, then a wide shot shows Rishi Persad wearing white shoes with his blue blazer and beige pants. I do not know. Anyway, Rybakina says Martic improved during the match but was happy with the way she responded and, having watched Wimbledon on TV as a child, she’s happy to move on.
Back to De Minaur, he saved another set point from advantage so Garin is now serving for the fourth set at 5-4. Decisive seems inevitable.
Elena Rybakina [17] beat Petra Martic 7-5 6-3!
She was serving beautifully, going into a match with either Korne or Tomljanovic, and given the way things are in women’s tennis right now – anyone can win anything – she can win this thing.
Rybakina of Kazakhstan celebrates after winning against Martic of Croatia. Photo: Kieran Galvin/EPA
Updated at 14.40 BST
Kyrgios is serving beautifully now, consolidating his break and just then securing another love hold for 4-2 in the second set. He puts in the effort and unbelievably, that makes the difference.
As I write this, Garin is forcing two set points; De Minaur saved both, one with an ace and one with a strong serve, while at No. 1 Martic held to force Rybakina to serve for the match. Can she loosen up?
Back on Court 2, De Minaur got back one of Garin’s breaks in the fourth set, now serving at 3-5. It may not be enough to win this set, but he will be happy to go ahead again with a decider looking inevitable.
Rybakina has lost just two service points in this set, but can she hold it with the line in sight? I’ve said before that I think Martic is the better player, but to clarify, I didn’t mean forever – at 23, her opponent will improve significantly over the next few years. But in the meantime, she’s eyeing a round-of-16 matchup with either Tomljanovic or Cornet, and will feature against either of them if she can get through that.
Martic hasn’t played the big points well so far and she braced herself on an overhand forehand, netting to give Rybakina a break point. But she…
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