Alex de Minaur's third round opponent at Wimbledon might be Rafael Nadal.
Photo: Jordan Mansfield
London: Australia's men had an excellent day at Wimbledon, with Nick Kyrgios, Alex de Minaur and Matt Ebden all progressing to the third round.
Teen sensation de Minaur could face world No.1 Rafael Nadal in a dream third-round Wimbledon match-up after beating Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
The 19-year-old prevailed 6-2 6-7 (10-8) 7-6 6-3 against the world No.72, bolstering his burgeoning reputation as one of the most exciting young players in men's tennis.
Handed a wildcard by the All England following his success at the Nottingham grass-court event last month, the world No.80 from Sydney hustled his way to victory in just over three hours.
A finalist in the juniors at The All England Club two years ago, de Minaur got off to the perfect start, breaking Herbert in the opening game of the match.
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He then saved two break points to open up a 2-0 lead and broke Herbert again with a magnificent forehand winner that clipped the baseline on his way to taking out the set.
Herbert raced into 2-0 lead early in the second but de Minaur got back the break immediately and levelled with another crunching forehand winner.
But the Frenchman took out a tense tiebreak after de Minaur had saved four set points but failed to convert two of his own.
Herbert took the early initiative in the third to break his young opponent, but showing a strength of character synonymous with his mentor Lleyton Hewitt, di Menaur hit straight back to level at 3-3.
He took out the set 7-5 on the Herbert serve with his fourth set point and bolstered by that, marched into an early 3-0 lead in the fourth on his way to closing out an impressive victory.
The top-ranked Nadal was a big favourite to confirm a third-round date with de Minaur when he played Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin later on Thursday.
Nick Kyrgios overcome his inner demons and a mini foot-fault crisis to also book his place in the third round.
Kyrgios cast aside Robin Haase 6-3 6-4 7-5 in 96 minutes, the 15th seed having more problems with his entourage than the Dutchman in a second-round mismatch.
Full swing: An in-form Nick Kyrgios is progressing well at this year's Wimbledon.
Photo: PA
As he motored towards victory in the third set, Kyrgios turned on his courtside box, including his father George, demanding they stand up and cheer him home.
"Why are you down? How hard is it to stand up for one game? This could be over in five minutes," he complained.
And despite adding another 19 aces to his massive English summer tally, an agitated Kyrgios also sought an explanation of the foot-fault rule from umpire James Keothavong after being pinged for over-stepping the service line.
During a changeover, the official descended from his chair to demonstrate before Kyrgios carried on and eventually completed an otherwise comfortable straight-sets win.
The Australian dropped serve twice, both times in the third set, while breaking Haase four times in advancing to a possible third-round confrontation with countryman and former Davis Cup teammate Bernard Tomic.
Matt Ebden continued Australia's fine form by progressing to the third round of a grand slam for the first time.
The West Australian beat 38-year-old qualifier Stephane Robert, the second oldest player in men's tennis, 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-1 to set up an encounter with another Frenchman Gilles Simon.
The 30-year-old, who stunned Belgian world No.9 David Goffin in straight sets on Tuesday, took a two-set lead after breaking early in first and then edging the Frenchman out in the tiebreak to take the second.
However, his serve was broken for only the second time this week midway through the third set, before Robert closed out comfortably to reduce the deficit.
Ebden, who will move into the top 50 for the first time next week, raced into a 2-0 lead early in the fourth, before Robert showed some resolve by breaking back.
However, the South African-born right-hander reeled off four successive games to ice the victory.
Ebden has a fantastic opportunity to earn a spot in the second week at the All England when he faces Simon, a player he has beaten in both of their previous meetings.
AAP
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