World Sport News

The Australians’ hopes for the first title win in 42 years of Happy Slam’s 42nd season ended in the last sixteen. Nick Kyrgios had to admit defeat to the Bulgarian world champion Grigor Dimitrov.

The 17th seed Kyrgios lost 6:7 (3:7), 6:7 (4:7), 6:4,6:4,6:7 (4:7) and missed the second quarter-finals in his home game after 2015. After 3:26 hours Dimitrov turned his second match point into a passing shot in the Rod Laver Arena. Mark Edmondson was the last Australian to win the Happy Slam in 1976. The 22-year-old Kyrgios did not succeed in a highly exciting match with many spectacular rallies and 36 aces (a total of 76 winners).

Dimitrov, third in the world rankings, who won his first major title at the ATP final in London last November, will meet the unseeded British Kyle Emund in the final eight on Tuesday, who eliminated Andreas Seppi (Italy) in four sets on Sunday. Dimitrov had reached the semi-finals in Melbourne in 2017.