Nick Kyrgios whacked another ball person with one of his rocket serves and had harsh words for a linesman who reported him for swearing in an otherwise routine 6-3 6-4 7-5 victory over Robin Haase on Friday morning (AEST).
The enigmatic Australian had far too much firepower for the Dutch world No.43 to book a third-round showdown with Kei Nishikori.
The Japanese star recovered from a slow start to dispatch lucky loser Bernard Tomic in four sets, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7) 7-5, robbing Aussie fans of a Kyrgios-Tomic grudge match.
Kyrgios was widely praised for showing compassion to a tearful ball girl who was struck with one of his serves during his first-round match.
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He again drew applause from the crowd when he stopped to make sure a ball boy who wore one of his thunderbolts wasn’t hurt on Friday.
It wouldn’t be a Kyrgios match without some controversy and the Canberran provided his daily dose after a linesman reported him for an audible obscenity.
The visibly annoyed 15th seed had words with the chair umpire, complaining it wasn’t the linesman’s job to ‘rat’ on him.
It was a far steadier performance from Sydneysider Alex de Minaur who booked a third-round showdown with Rafael Nadal with a 6-2 6-7 (8-10) 7-5 6-3 victory over Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Playing in just his second men’s singles match at the All England Club, the 19-year-old made a dream start to power to a one-set lead.
He relinquished his advantage in a tight second-set tiebreak before regaining control in the final two sets to book a dream clash against Nadal.
Veteran Matthew Ebden followed De Minaur on Court 14 and also needed four sets to secure his berth in the third round.
The 30-year-old outlasted France’s Stephane Robert 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-1.
Earlier on day four, Ash Barty dispatched former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets, 6-4 7-5.
Daria Gavrilova won an all-Australian battle against Sam Stosur, 6-4 6-1, to also progress to the third round.
