Indian Wells (United States) (AFP) - Australia's Nick Kyrgios became the first man into the Indian Wells ATP Masters quarter-finals on Wednesday when scheduled opponent Jannik Sinner withdrew due to illness.
Kyrgios, 26 and ranked 132nd in the world, is in the sixth Masters level quarter-final of his career and his first since Cincinnati in 2017.
He'll face the winner of Wednesday's fourth-round clash between 21-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal and American Reilly Opelka.
Italy's Sinner, 20, saw his bid for a second career Masters quarter-final come to an end.In his previous best Masters finish, he reached the final at Miami last year.
He had reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in January, becoming the youngest to do so since Kyrgios in 2015.
Kyrgios, who captured the 2022 Australian Open men's doubles title in January with fellow Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis, is playing his first tournament since then.
Kyrgios toppled eighth-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 in the third round.
