Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios has staged the performance of his life, mounting an incredible comeback to upset French 13th seed Richard Gasquet in a Wimbledon classic.

Kyrgios, at 19 the youngest man in the draw, came from two sets down and saved nine match points over four successive games in the final set before clinching victory 3-6 6-7 (7-4) 6-4 7-5 10-8.

“It was an unbelievable match out there,” Kyrgios said.

“It’s definitely the biggest win of my career.

“I’m so proud of how I hung in and fought it out.”

Kyrgios became the first Australian into the third round, with Lleyton Hewitt behind 7-5 4-4 against Polish 15th seed Jerzy Janowicz when their second round encounter was suspended until Friday due to rain.

No player has saved nine match points and gone on to win a grand slam match in a decade, while it hasn’t happened at Wimbledon since 1966.

With nerves of steel – aided by a little luck and a vocal group of Australian supporters – Kyrgios answered every question asked of him in a high-quality final set with a string of aces and ferocious winners.

“I was just thinking about going through my routine (on the match points),” said Kyrgios, who blasted 21 aces.

“Just coming up with something, going after it, playing aggressive.”

In reaching the third round of a grand slam for the first time, Kyrgios enhanced his reputation as one of the most exciting prospects in world tennis.

A beaten Gasquet joined a chorus of those tipping Kyrgios for big things.

“In the future he can be top five, he can win a grand slam of course,” the Frenchman said.

Kyrgios, in his main draw debut at Wimbledon, will next face unseeded Czech Jiri Vesely, who upset French 24th seed Gael Monfils in five sets.

Ranked 144th in the world, Kyrgios earned a wildcard entry to the grass court grand slam after winning a Challenger event in Nottingham earlier this month.

After battling past unseeded Frenchman Stephane Robert in the first round he was given an outside chance against world No.14 Gasquet, runner-up at Eastbourne last week.

However he didn’t find any real rhythm until the Frenchman had comfortably built a two-set lead.

Kyrgios kept his composure and gave himself hope by clinching a crucial break and serving out the third set.

Both men served well in the fourth set before Kyrgios found himself two points from defeat, at 0-30 trailing 5-4 before digging his way out of trouble.

He then broke in the next game with massive backhand winner before going on to level the match.

The final set was on serve until Kyrgios looked set to concede the match softly when he was behind 0-40 on serve at 5-4 down.

He rattled off a series of great serves to save three straight match points and it proved a sign of things to come.

Two games later, Kyrgios fended off another three match points, including one in which he had been called for a double fault, only for a Hawkeye challenge to pay off by a matter of millimetres.

The pattern continued for several games and the Australian’s refusal to give in finally took its toll when Gasquet surrendered serve to love.

Finally given his chance, Kyrgios didn’t waste it, holding to love to seal a potentially career-defining victory.

“It’s a massive stepping stone for me to finally reach the third round of a grand slam,” said Kyrgios, who hit 86 winners and 44 unforced errors.

“Especially to come back from two-sets-to-love down.

“It can be a building bridge for more things to come.”

In other men’s matches A trio of grand slam winners reached the third round of the Wimbledon Championships, with Rafael Nadal earning some quiet satisfaction after beating the man who stunned him on the grass two years ago.

The second seed and two-time champion defeated Lukas Rosol 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 6-4, coming from a set and a break down and avoiding repeat embarrassment after his 2012 loss at this stage to the Czech.

Seven-time title winner Roger Federer, seeded fourth, beat Gilles Muller 6-3 7-5 6-3 with three aces in the final game and 25 in total as the Centre Court roof was brought into play in the second set for the first time at this year.

The closing of the dome might become more familiar with more rain on the horizon for the next two days.

Australian Open champion and fifth seed Stan Wawrinka overcame a slight wobble in a defeat of Lu Yen-Hsun 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 3-6 7-5.

Wawrinka brushed off his losing third set, putting it down to a lapse.

“I lost a little bit of focus on my serve,” said the Swiss.

“I was broken two times when I was up 40-15 and 40-0. I was just a little down during the match. But generally I’m quite happy with the victory.”

Nadal earned a key break-back in the second set against Rosol to turn the tide and eventually earn the win in two and three-quarter hours on his third match point.

“I tried to keep fighting after being down in the second set. I needed to find my moment and wait for it,” Nadal said.

“I made a few mistakes in the first set but after that I played well.

“I got the break-back (second set) with a great return. If I had not managed I would have been in great danger of going two sets down.”

Rosol produced 17 aces to 11 for Nadal, with the Spaniard overcoming 58 winners from his Czech opponent.

Nadal said that his 2012 loss didn’t enter his mind.

“Every match is different, my goal here is not Rosol, it’s to play well no matter whom I play,” he said.”

Canadian eighth seed Milos Raonic reached the third round for the first time, beating Jack Sock 6-3 6-4 6-4, while ninth seeded John Isner won the longest Wimbledon men’s singles tiebreak since 1973 over Finn Jarkko Nieminen 7-6 (19-17) 7-6 (7-3) 7-5.

Japanese tenth seed Kei Nishikori beat Denis Kudla 6-3 6-2 6-1.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the number 14 seed, finished off American Sam Querrey 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 14-12 in a match carried over from Wednesday.

The women’s top Wimbledon seeds have progressed smoothly, led by five-time champion Serena Williams, who rolled Chanelle Scheepers 6-1 6-1.

Top seed Williams dismissed the South African in 49 minutes to set up a last 32 meeting with French 25th seed Alize Cornet.

The world No.1 had seethed over her shock first round exit against Garbine Muguruza at the French Open last month and appears intent on taking out those frustrations on her Wimbledon opponents.

Serena, a 17-time grand slam champion, overwhelmed Scheepers with 26 winners, compared to five from the world No.94, and eight aces.

She is thriving despite the pressure of her status as tournament favourite.

“It’s been like that for the past two or three years. I am always the favourite and that can be a bit of pressure, but it’s OK. I have learnt to deal with it,” Serena said.

French Open winner Maria Sharapova was also on song, dispatching Swiss Timea Bacsinszky 6-2 6-1.

“We had a few close games, but I stepped up when I needed to. I needed to start this match quicker than the last one,” said the Russian.

“I’m just happy I’ve settled in during the first two rounds. I lost here in the second round last year so I’m really motivated to win this title again.”

German ninth seed Angelique Kerber advanced over Briton Heather Watson 6-2 5-7 6-1, while Serb 11th seed Ana Ivanovic beat Zheng Jie 6-4 6-0.

Canadian 13th seed Eugenie Bouchard, semi-finalist in both Melbourne and Paris this season, defeated Silvia Soler-Espinosa 7-5 6-1.

HOW THE AUSTRALIANS FARED ON DAY FOUR

Prefix denotes seeding

Men’s singles, second round

Nick Kyrgios bt 13-Richard Gasquet (FRA) 3-6 6-7 (7-4) 6-4 7-5 10-8

Men’s doubles, 1st round

John-Patrick Smith/Jonathan Marray (GBR) bt Andreas Siljestrom (SWE)/Igor Zelenay (SVK) 6-4 7-5 6-4

Paul Hanley/Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) lost to Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)/Scott Lipsky (USA) 7-6 (9-7) 6-0 3-6 7-6 (7-3)

Women’s doubles, 1st round

11-Anastasia Rodionova/Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) bt Yanina Wickmayer (BEL)/Shuai Zhang (CHN) 6-1 6-3

Samantha Stosur/Flavia Pennetta (ITA) bt Jocelyn Rae (GBR)/Anna Smith (GBR) 3-6 7-5 6-3