Kyrgios crawls into China Open quarters

Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios booked his place in the quarter-finals of the China Open after rebounding strongly from a set down against Germany's Mischa Zverev in the men's singles clash here on Wednesday.

The eighth-seeded stuttered through the first set before eventually seeing off Zverev 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win in an exhilarating second-round clash that lasted just an hour and 21 minutes.

Kyrgios made a slow start and demolished a racquet, with Zverev taking the first set with just one break.

However, the Australian recovered from thereon and took control on the main court in Beijing with a series of dominating games. He did not look back from there.

The 22-year-old will now cross swords with Steve Darcis of Belgium for a place in semis.

Meanwhile, 16-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal will also aim to seal a last-eight spot when he takes on Russia's Karen Khachanov in the second round.

The world number one had earlier bounced back from a first-set down to register a 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-5 win over Lucas Pouille of France in the opening round.