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Senior Writer- Jake Michaels is a Melbourne-based sports writer. He has been with ESPN since 2013, covering everything from AFL to Formula One, basketball to boxing, and tennis, both in Australia and around the world.
MELBOURNE, Australia -- While there was drama aplenty during the Nick Kyrgios-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga show at Rod Laver Arena on Friday evening, the sideshow between Rafael Nadal and Damir Dzumhur was cruelly one-sided.
The clash between Nadal and the Bosnian was lopsided from the outset. Dzumhur won only four of the first 24 points as Nadal secured the first set in just 22 minutes.
Dzumhur fought harder in the second but had no answers against Nadal, who won 6-1, 6-3, 6-1.
And it's fair to say Nadal knows a thing or two about putting together dominant wins in Grand Slams:
The victory also marks Nadal's 11th appearance in the round of 16 at Melbourne, tying Stefan Edberg for the second most by a man in the Open era. (Novak Djokovic can join them on Saturday.) Roger Federer leads with 15 and can make it 16 with a win over Richard Gasquet on Saturday night.
The Kyrgios-Tsonga battle lasted 3 hours, 17 minutes. For the most part, Tsonga -- who was serving like a beast throughout -- appeared to hold the upper hand, only for Kyrgios to win the key points down the stretch.
Kyrgios' 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) victory was tight. Matter of fact, the stats say Tsonga could have, maybe should have, won. The Frenchman ...
Hit more winners (Tsonga: 70 | Kyrgios: 54)
Recorded more breaks of serve (two compared with Kyrgios' one)
Won a higher percentage of points on first serve (Tsonga: 87 percent | Kyrgios: 79 percent)
Won more total points (Tsonga: 144 | Kyrgios: 142)
Watching with interest was movie star Will Smith, who drew plenty of applause from fans when featured on the big screen -- once or twice accompanied by music from "Men In Black."
After he won, Kyrgios admitted he was somewhat starstruck when he saw Smith in the crowd.
"When I saw him out here I was so nervous... People think I'm cool but I wanted him to think I was the coolest." @NickKyrgios declares his love for Will Smith in his post-match interview 😅 #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/NuRKsNWg1F
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 19, 2018
You thought Thursday was hot? Well, somehow Day 5 managed to top it. Friday in Melbourne reached a scorching 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), but officials still declined to enforce the Australian Open extreme heat policy, insisting the show must go on.
For some players, the oppressive heat was just too much. Frenchwoman Alize Cornet endured a scary moment when she collapsed on Hisense Arena during her third-round clash with Elise Mertens.
The 27-year-old was attended to by medical staff, first having her blood pressure taken before ice was applied to her neck, shoulders and legs. After a lengthy break, she continued, but she eventually lost 7-5, 6-4.
The sky-high temperature was also brutal on fans who spent the best part of the day with a tube of sunscreen in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.
How to beat the Aussie Open heat in 30 seconds.
Fortunately, a cool change swept through Melbourne Park early in the evening, giving welcome relief to players and fans.
The forecast is for more warm weather through the weekend and early next week, with daily highs of low 30s (high 80s in Fahrenheit). Hardly cool, but a long way from the brutality of the past 48 hours.
Early in the day, Englishman Kyle Edmund prevailed over Nikoloz Basilashvili to reach the fourth round -- equaling the Brit's career-best performance at a major. However, what had everyone in the stands talking was the remarkable second game of the fourth set.
Basilashvili's service game took a staggering 19 minutes and 59 seconds to complete and featured 15 deuces. Edmund blew eight break point chances before finally converting and going on to win the set 6-0.
Oddly enough, that wasn't the only bizarre game in the match. Edmund had a service game to forget in the first set when he served a natural hat trick of double faults. Yes, you read correctly, three consecutive double faults. The most amazing part of it all? The 23-year-old somehow still managed to hold his serve!
Ever fancied hanging out with a koala? How about holding a crocodile?
Some of tennis' brightest stars took a break from the sweltering heat to get up close and personal with some Aussie wildlife.
Crocodile tears?
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 18, 2018
Aussie animals always cause a stir in the player lounge. We like the hungry koala best, eh @David__Goffin? 📷 #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/BnskQIYiko
Don't get too close!
Finally, remember CoCo Vandeweghe's opening-round outburst?
Well the American was slapped with a U.S.$10,000 unsportsmanlike fine for ranting "F--- you, you f---ing b----" at Hungarian Timea Babos. It wasn't the 2017 Aussie Open semifinalist's best day, as she lost 7-6, 6-2.
Other players to have picked up fines include Nick Kyrgios (U.S.$3,000) for verbally abusing a fan during his own opener and Borna Coric (U.S.$5,000) for racket abuse in his loss to Aussie John Millman.