Nick Kyrgios came from a set down to beat Milos Raonic this afternoon, 5-7 7-5 7-6 6-3 the final score.
One of the most eye-catching encounters today saw two of the top 30 and two promising young players go head-to-head in round three of this year's Wimbledon.
Having met just twice before, and that being last year as Kyrgios' incredible jump up the rankings had just began, it was sure to be an interesting match and a very even one, despite Raonic having a 100 per cent record against the Aussie in two matches.
One of those matches came at Wimbledon last year, with the Canadian disposing of his lively opponent as he made an impressive run to the semi-finals - his best in SW19.
However, Kygrios has gained plenty of vital experience since that meeting, and with him being such a good returner of the ball, it was going to be interesting to see just how well he dealt with the man who earlier this week broke the record for the fastest ever serve at Wimbledon, producing a frightening speed of 145mph.
Earlier rounds
These two have been drawn in one of the most intriguing sections this year, containing themselves, Richard Gasquet and Grigor Dimitrov - the winner of this match playing one of the latter two as they clashed in the third round today also.
Kyrgios has made his way to this stage in comprehensive fashion, playing just six sets of tennis, two tiebreaks and evening bagelling his round one opponent, Diego Schwartzmann. He beat him 6-0 6-2 7-6 in the end, before conquering another Argentine in round two, Juan Monaco, winning 7-6 6-3 6-4.
Raonic, on the other hand, has played eight sets so far, also boasting a bagel, but having played three tiebreakers. Daniel Gimeno-Traver was his first task, and he beat him in four sets, winning 6-2 6-3 3-6 7-6, before a tougher challenge in the former of Tommy Haas awaited him in round two, but he was also beaten in four sets, Raonic coming through with a scoreline of 6-0 6-2 6-7 7-6 in his favour.
The Canadian seems to be just losing focus midway through his matches, but could not afford to do that again today, as he was facing an opponent who would certainly punish him for doing so.
Raonic takes the lead as Kyrgios slips up
Raonic did not start the match well in truth, with Kyrgios looking the more likely to break as his opponent made a number of unforced errors on both his and the Aussie's service games. Kyrgios, on the other hand, was returning well and dominating rallies to really pose questions of Raonic. Yet, good net play from the Canadian was undeniable, and this helped him save a number of break points early on.
This continued throughout the set, with there nothing in between the two as each continued to serve well, bar a few errors of their own. However, it was more each player's own undoing that put them in trouble, not their opponent's good work.
Still, Raonic improved as the set progressed, with six unforced errors coming in the first four games but none following. The Canadian would go on to take the set too, again due to errors from his opponent though whilst he remained solid and composed as a tiebreak neared.
With the match still on serve, Raonic led 6-5 as Kyrgios served to take the first set to a tiebreak. Yet, two successive double faults gave his opponent three set points, and another double fault gave him the lead as the Aussie entered set number two wondering just how he had lost a set he had started so well.
Kyrgios bites back
Raonic carried this momentum into the next set, with Kyrgios looking vulnerable but holding for the time being. Some wicked second serves helped him keep up with his opponent as the Canadian maintained his business like approach, being consistently solid and dishing out aces for fun whilst he waited for some inevitable errors on the Aussie's behalf.
The second serve was a danger for Kyrgios at times, as his will to take on a ferocious 110mph effort was sure to backfire at some point and Raonic was just patiently waiting for it to do so. The world number eight had improved his return as the match had gone one too, as well as his forehand, and was able to earn himself a break point with the score 3-2 in his favour.
Yet, Kyrgios produced a marvellous ace under pressure to take the game to deuce and then held well to keep the set on serve as Raonic began to take control. This proved to be a game-changing moment as just two games later Kyrgios earned himself a break point after some fantastic play on Raonic's serve.
However, the Canadian won the point in incredible fashion, provoking Kyrgios to throw his racket down violently, it bouncing up into the crowd dangerously and resulting in him receiving a warning from the umpire, as a spectator came down to hand it back over.
Raonic struggled to hold though, Kyrgios seeing two more break points in his best game of the match thus far. Both were saved with real grace by his opponent before he calmly played his way out of a sticky situation with some Roger Federer-esque volleys.
However, his following service game was even more uncomfortable as he made three sloppy errors to give Kyrgios three break points. The Aussie took his chance this time, playing an immaculate passing shot, one which was ruefully left by Raonic, to take a 6-5 lead in the set.
He now needed to play a comfortable service game to take the set though, something he has struggled to do at times in the match. Yet, the composure he displayed this time was simply incredible, with four aces in a row giving him the game and levelling the scores at one set piece.
It was important for Kyrgios to respond positively to the setback in the first set, as it was the first he had dropped this summer and was therefore to be an unfamiliar situation for him, at least for a while.
Raonic, on the other hand, would remain calm despite having lost his lead, as he has almost come to expect a blip in his matches this week with both matches played thus far seeing his opponent win a set. He knows that he is able to bounce back from this and would be confident heading into set three.
Kyrgios takes the lead through a tiebreak
As expected Raonic did appear far from unsettled as we entered the third set, continuing his solid consistency to remain on serve and wait for opportunities to break Kyrgios.
Two chances came in the fourth game of the set thanks to some far from casual play from the Aussie, but he again used his creative brilliance to dig himself out of the hole he had created.
The man ranked 29th in the world then used this to take momentum into Raonic's follow-up service game, seeing a break point but again the match remained on serve as the Canadian held well.
Both had had early chances to take the lead, but neither were showing the composure and conviction necessary when in these crucial situations.
Yet, both did look stronger on serve after this, especially the Canadian who forced Kygrios to serve to to stay in the set at 6-5. However, the Aussie was convincing, winning the game to love as we prepared for an expected expedition of aces on the tiebreak.
Nonetheless, Raonic defied this on just the second point as, after acing his first serve on the point prior, he earned the first mini-break with a delicate volley at the net to take a 2-0 lead.
Kyrgios broke back quickly though to level the scores with a good return on the Canadian's second serve and even then took the lead when Raonic made a very sloppy error with a horrible forehand.
Unable to break back as Kyrgios played two good service points, a net cord seemingly in his favour then worked against the Canadian as his opponent played a passing shot that simply fizzed by him and gave the Aussie four set points.
A marvellous ace on his second serve gave him victory on the tiebreak at 7-3, and the lead in the match at two sets to one, with his moments of individual brilliance coming at just the right times so far.
Momentum gives the Aussie victory
Keen to make amends for a sloppy end to the third set, Raonic was quick off the mark in number four, seeing a break point early on but, once again, failing to take it.
Kyrgios' serve, on the other hand, was becoming simply wonderful and unstoppable now, both on his first and second attempts. With his opponent unable to anticipate it, he was quickly coming through service games and was able to focus on breaking instead.
The reception from his Australian following every time he won a point was fantastic too and certainly contributed to the momentum swinging in his favour. He was really rallied up now, constantly forcing Raonic to go to extra lengths to win service games.
He pushed the Canadian far enough right at the end of the set, with him committing a double fault to give Kyrgios the chance to break and then serve for the match.
Despite having taken just one of his seven break point opportunities thus far in the match, the Aussie took this one immediately and, having trailed by a set, now had the chance to bring the encounter to a conclusion.
A sloppy shot and a helpless challenge by Raonic gave Kyrgios the match points he was searching for, and he took the first of two with a fierce forehand to beat the Canadian for the first time in three attempts.
Raonic looked to be struggling towards the end of the match, though whether he was injured or not remained unclear, with his tempo certainly dropping, but Kyrgios played brilliantly in response to going a set down and was a worthy winner regardless.
His first serve and second serve were almost as effective as each other and this was a massive difference in the end as the Aussie came through victorious.
He will play Gasquet in the fourth round, a man who also overcame a higher seeded player today as he defeated the world number 11, Dimitrov, in straight sets.
Kyrgios has played the Frechman three times, their most recent encounter coming earlier this year as Gasquet won 6-3 6-2 in the final at Estoril, but their one and only encounter on grass was last year at Wimbledon in round two, with the Aussie coming out as the winner. Gasquet squandered nine match points in the five-setter, but Kyrgios would come through before beating Rafael Nadal in the next round.
Gasquet still leads their head-to-head though, having beaten the 20-year-old whilst representing France in round one of the Davis Cup last year.