The win has him playing in his sixth quarter-final of the year after the 22-year-old hammered 11 in the deciding set.

The Australian famously tanked against the same opponent last year and was subsequently suspended for three weeks.

Kyrgios said he knew the importance of playing well against Zverev considering last year’s incident.

"I just wanted to prove to myself how much I have improved," he said.

"I knew it was going to be tough. He plays a very old-school type of tennis, likes to come forward a lot.

"I got broken early in the first. Then I kind of knew I had to loosen up and find my rhythm a little bit."

Kyrgios said he was not perturbed by his slow start and knew he would eventually find his rhythm.

"I started serving much better, started just relaxing," Kyrgios said.

"I knew I was going to feel pretty comfortable at some stage out there. Obviously (I'm) just really happy to get through."