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The mercurial Australian, who defeated Rafa
Nadal the night before in a match where the Spaniard later
criticized Kyrgios' on-court demeanor, outplayed Wawrinka in the
match's biggest moments despite playing in front of spectators
who vocally backed the Swiss.
"I actually play better when the crowd is against me and giving
me a bit of stink," the 23-year-old said.
"I love it. It gets me going."
The night did not begin well for the hard-hitting Kyrgios, who
slipped while thumping a backhand in the first game, opening up
a cut on his right hand that required medical attention.
Leg cramps followed in the deciding set but nothing could derail
Kyrgios, who won his final service game at love to keep his
hopes of a maiden championship at the tournament alive.
"In the first game I just tripped over. I'm not the smoothest
mover on tour and I tripped over and grazed my hand," he said.
"And the cramping was tough toward the end."
Next up for Kyrgios is big-serving American John Isner, who
fired 38 aces to dispatch Australian John Millman 7-6(2) 6-7(4)
7-6(4) in a marathon match to end the day.
Earlier in the hot and humid conditions Briton Cameron Norrie
cruised past American Mackenzie McDonald 6-3 6-2 to book his
ticket to the semis.
Norrie will face second-seeded German Alexander Zverev, who did
not face a break point en route to a 6-4 6-4 win over Australian
Alex de Minaur.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
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