Day Three of The Boodles 2017
Kyrgios and Zverev shine on Day 3 at The Boodles
Australian star Nick Kyrgios and world no. 12 Alexander Zverev headlined an all-star line-up on Thursday at The Boodles, and both emerged victorious from their respective clashes on a day when home player James Ward also claimed a win.
James Ward (GBR) d. Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) 9-6
Great Britain’s Ward recorded his first victory of the 2017 grass-court season at Stoke Park on Thursday, outdoing world no. 22 Ramos-Vinolas to win a first-to-nine-games set. The Wimbledon wild card says he will take confidence from beating the man who will be seeded no. 25 at Wimbledon.
Ward said:
"It was a tough match, but you always get a lot of great players here and I’m happy to be part of the event,” Ward said. “And obviously I got the win, so I’ll take that. Now I’ll see if I can take this confidence over into next week."
Of his hopes for Wimbledon, the Londoner said: “Hopefully I won’t draw Djokovic again! But we’ll see. Obviously everyone plays well there, and I look forward to doing the best I can. It’s tough to gauge exactly where I’m at, but the best I can do is keep playing these tournaments and matches.”
Ward said:
“It’s a beautiful venue, it’s a lovely day to come out here. It’s something a bit different, away from Wimbledon. You see the same guys every day practicing, and obviously you get to play some matches as well. So it’s perfect preparation.”
Ramos-Vinolas was playing his second match of The Boodles 2017 after narrowly losing out to Philipp Kohlschreiber on Wednesday.
Nick Kyrgios (AUS) d. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-4 6-4
World no. 20 and crowd favourite Kyrgios returned to The Boodles with a victory, drawing laughs from the spectators during an entertaining 6-4 6-4 defeat of Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Kyrgios said:
“Obviously it’s a lot of fun,” the Aussie said. “I think it’s great for me to come here and sort of have a laid-back vibe, but also play some good tennis as well.”
The 22-year-old was forced to retire during his first round match at the Queen’s Club last week, but says that he is now feeling good.
“I took some time off after Queen’s and really have been looked after,” Kyrgios shared. “I had this hip injury pretty much for the last six, seven months. It’s been giving me grief, but hopefully it’ll settle down a little bit. And yeah, I’m looking forward to playing Wimbledon.”
Kyrgios first came to the world's attention as a Wild Card who shocked Rafael Nadal in the 2014 Wimbledon fourth round.
“I don’t really think about wins like that one too much,” Kyrgios said. “But I know I can produce that standard of tennis, so obviously I carry that confidence over to matches whenever I go out on court.”
As for this season’s Championships, the no. 20 seed says: “Some would say I’m probably not in the best shape to go in this year and expect something. But you know, I feel like if I’m serving well and I’m playing the right style of tennis, the sky’s the limit at Wimbledon. Anyone with a big game, they’re pretty favourable on that surface.”
He added: “I honestly do think I can win it. Might need a bit of luck, and everything to fall into place. But I do believe I can win.”
Alexander Zverev (GER) d. Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) 7-6(4) 6-7(4) 10-2
The jokes were continuous and the power-hitting on full display as 20-year-old Zverev and fellow youngster Kokkinakis put on the show of the tournament so far – the world no. 12 eventually triumphing after a tight battle.
“It was great,” Zverev said after his win. “Obviously before it gets all serious at Wimbledon it’s great to come out here, enjoy your time on court with a great crowd, and with Thanasi who’s a great friend of mine. So it was an enjoyable match.”
Kokkinakis – the subject of much of Zverev’s bantering – shared the sentiment.
"It's good fun playing a close mate," the 21-year-old said. "I've known Alex for a long time now, and he's been doing some great things in the sport, it's always fun to play him. I think the match went on a bit longer than most of us were expecting, but yeah, it's good to get another match on the grass."
The rising star – still on the comeback trail after two years of injury – now turns his attention to Wimbledon.
"I have cool memories," he shared. "I played junior doubles with another close mate, Nick [Kyrgios]. I've grown up playing with him for so long and then to win that junior doubles with him, that was great."
"Wimbledon is so classy, an unreal atmosphere to play in. I think the fans are pretty knowledgeable as well there, which helps. And there's so much history, so it's cool. Obviously you've got the strawberries and stuff, too!"
"I'm trying not to now, but I know when I go out there I will put a lot of pressure on myself," the NextGen star admitted. "I say there's no pressure on me, but when I go out there I'm going to go and fight hard, just take it day by day. And hopefully I'll come out healthy."
Zverev reached the third round at SW19 last season and will be seeded no. 10 this year, but is being cautious about his expectations.
"I have to look at the draw first," he stated. "Before the French Open I won the Rome Masters. But then played against Fernando Verdasco in the first round, who was a very tough opponent, and I lost. Now I feel very comfortable, very confident on grass. So hopefully I can do well at Wimbledon, as well."
Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff and Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut wrapped up the day with a competitive match late into the evening. Struff eventually prevailed 26 76(7) 10-4.
Results - Thursday 29th June 2017
James Ward (GBR) d. Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) 9-6
Nick Kyrgios (AUS) d. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-4 6-4
Alexander Zverev (GER) d. Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) 7-6(4) 6-7(4) 10-2
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) d. Roberto Baustista Agut (ESP) 2-6 7-6(7) 10-4
Order of Play Day 4 - Friday 30th June 2017 - 12.30pm Start
12:30
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) v Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS)
14:30
Nick Kyrgios (AUS) v Viktor Troicki (SRB)
Followed by
Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) v Benoit Paire (FRA)
Followed by (not before 17:00)
Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ESP) v Denis Shapovalov (CAN)