With The Help Of A Thunderous Aussie Crowd Nick Kyrgios Pulled Off An Epic Comeback Last Night To Stay Alive In The Australian Open

DAVE HUNT. Shutterstock Images.

Matches like this are why I absolutely love tennis. Late late last night Nick Kyrgios went to war with a young frenchman who looks like he could've starred alongside Jonah Hill in Super Bad by the name of Ugo Humbert. Truth be told, I didn't think Nick was going to pull this off but his nagging knee injury held up and the Aussie crowd pushed him to the next level to pull it off in a 5 set thriller.

 This match was awesome, one that Kyrgios called afterwards the most memorable of his career. For 3 days the Australian Open has kind of been at a lull in terms of great on-court entertainment. Well, Kyrgios changed all that in his 3 and a half hour clash with Humbert. It's a shame these are aired so late on the East Coast because when Nick steps foot on John Cain Arena in Melbourne, Australia it's pure entertainment every time. More likely than not you're going to walk away feeling amazed at what you just watched. I don't care if you like tennis or not going in, you'll come away entertained no matter what. 

Nick started slow with Humbert coming out sharp. Then Kyrgios yelled at the head chair umpire because the device that monitors lets on services was broken and going off even when the ball was a foot over the net. He was seemingly cooked in the 4th, but out of nowhere fought off two match points on Humbert's serve to level the match. The crowd proceeded to erupt each time, seemingly willing him to the win. Listen to the roar at the 37 second mark and 52nd second mark of the video below. 

(Apologies for the shortened highlight, this is all they put out on YouTube)

I'm not sure how long these highlights below will be up, but it has the full thing. Hit play at the 9:36 mark. 

I missed crowds like this, didn't you? I know the SEC had fans during the college football season and there were limited fans during the NFL season at some stadiums, but this was a CROWD. You watch that match and you kinda forgot for a second what's going on in the States. I gotta say it was just refreshing to watch fans actually be relevant enough again to matter in a sports game. Just a bunch of fat guys chugging beer in the stands to the point where it's getting all over their shirt. I missed these guys. Dare I say…normalcy?

DAVE HUNT. Shutterstock Images.

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Kyrgios gets the reigning US Open champ Dominic Thiem in the 3rd round. The Aussies are going to have come out in droves to push him to a win in that one. Nick is playing some incredible tennis and as long as that knee holds up he should give Thiem a great match. You enter John Cain Arena and Nick is standing on the opposite side of the net you know you're in for a war. This shit is destroying my sleep schedule, but it's so worth it. I love the Aussie Open.