Guto Miguel claims maiden pro win on the big stage, downing Kyrgios in Sudden Death
Guto Miguel, 17-year old and playing in front of his home crowd, beat former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios 3-2 in Sudden Death at UTS Rio de Janeiro, saving six quarter points along the way for the first big-stage win of his professional career.
Guto Miguel and Nick Kyrgios, UTS Rio | © UTS Tour
Guto Miguel beat Nick Kyrgios 3-2 in quarters (21-12, 15-10, 13-16, 15-21, 2-0 in Sudden Death) on Thursday, claiming the first win of his professional big-stage career in the third match of UTS Rio presented by XP’s opening night at the Maracanãzinho.
The 17-year-old Brazilian, ranked 824th and playing in front of his home crowd, raced through the first quarter 21-12, winning 60 percent of his service points and 63 percent on return while making just six unforced errors to Kyrgios’ 13. He extended the lead in the second, closing it out 15-10 on a single deciding point after Kyrgios won only 25 percent of his own service points and needed an average of eight seconds to close out each point he did win.
Kyrgios, a former Wimbledon finalist and the most experienced player in the field, responded in the third quarter, reeling off a six-point run and an ace on his way to a 16-13 win. Guto Miguel saved three quarter points along the way before finally conceding it.
The Australian pushed the match to a fourth quarter, extending a nine-point run – the longest of the match – and successfully converting his bonus card to close it out 21-15. Guto Miguel again saved three quarter points before it slipped away, levelling the match at two quarters apiece and forcing a fifth and final quarter: Sudden Death.
First steps of Guto Miguel on the big stage
Guto Miguel did not miss in the decider, closing out the match 2-0.
Despite splitting the four regulation quarters two apiece, Guto Miguel finished with more total points won than Kyrgios, 66 to 59, produced more winners, 15 to 11, and made fewer unforced errors, 31 to 36. His most telling number was defensive: across the match he saved six quarter points, three each in the third and fourth quarters, repeatedly denying Kyrgios a route back into the match before closing it out himself in Sudden Death.
The win is the first of Guto Miguel’s professional career in singles, a breakthrough on home soil that comes five weeks after he became the first Brazilian to win a Roland Garros boys’ singles title. For Kyrgios, a 2022 Wimbledon finalist and seven-time ATP title winner, the loss is an opening-night upset against a player ranked 824th in the world.
Guto Miguel’s reward is a rematch with the format itself on Friday, when he faces Brandon Nakashima. Kyrgios must regroup fast – his next assignment is João Fonseca, and the rest of a Rio crowd already reminded of what this teenager can do.
Day 1 results:
• Tallon Griekspoor d. Corentin Moutet 3-2 (14-11, 13-14, 16-11, 10-15, 3-2 SD)
• Brandon Nakashima d. Francisco Cerúndolo (1) 3-1 (13-11, 10-18, 16-15, 12-11)
• Guto Miguel d. Nick Kyrgios 3-2 (21-12, 15-10, 13-16, 15-21, 2-0 SD)
• Cameron Norrie d. Corentin Moutet 3-1 (14-12, 21-9, 12-14, 16-14)
Friday’s schedule:
• Guto Miguel v Brandon Nakashima 6:00 pm
• João Fonseca (2) v Tallon Griekspoor 7:00 pm
• Francisco Cerúndolo (1) v Cameron Norrie 8:00 pm
• João Fonseca (2) v Nick Kyrgios 9:00 pm
