Kyrgios, Tiafoe reach quarterfinals

TOKYO, Oct 06 (AFP): Nick Kyrgios roared back from a "frustrating" first set on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the Japan Open, defeating Polish player Kamil Majchrzak 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Despite his slow start, the maverick Australian emerged victorious in typical crowd-pleasing style, showing off with aggressive aces and some exaggeratedly effortless points.
The 27-year-old, who was knocked out in the last eight at the US Open, said that despite Majchrzak breaking his serve, there was "never really doubt in my mind that I was going to win".
"I've barely been broken all year," so when "the opponent doesn't really do much to break me it's quite frustrating," he said after the 1h 21min match.
"I was just not playing the right way -- the court's very fast," Kyrgios added.
Earlier in the day, Frances Tiafoe came through a second set battle to secure a spot in the quarter-finals, saying he wasn't bothered by rising expectations.
The 24-year-old American, who has been in the spotlight since beating Rafael Nadal on the way to a first Grand Slam semi-final at the US Open last month, beat Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-1, 7-6 (9/7).
The American breezed through the first set before Miralles fought back to take the second to a tie-break that saw some of the best rallies of the 1hr 32min encounter.
"Good match today, tough second set," said Tiafoe, who has won his last 13 tie-breaks.