By Stuart Miller
New York: Nick Kyrgios endured a tough US Open quarterfinal loss, plagued by unforced errors and some tactical errors, yet he never gave up, gamely pushing his opponent Karen Khachanov to produce big serves and forehands until the bitter end.
At first, it seemed like it would be an early night for the fans. After Caroline Garcia upset Coco Gauff in straight sets, Kyrgios and Khachanov tore through the first set in just 34 minutes, blasting 18 aces. And the set ended with Kyrgios hobbling in pain, double faulting and making a half-hearted approach to the net as he fell 7-5 to Khachanov.
“I came out flat and didn’t feel great physically,” Kyrgios said afterward, saying he had tweaked a sore knee but that he felt great physically later in the match.
But Kyrgios took time out for medical treatment, and it seemed to revive him - not enough to fully recover and win, but enough to keep Khachanov under pressure the rest of Tuesday and well into Wednesday morning (local time). By the time it was over, the two hard hitters had fought for five sets across three hours and 39 minutes, with Khachanov winning 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4 and Kyrgios annihilating his racket in frustration after it was over.
“I’m obviously devastated,” Kyrgios said during a brief and mordant sombre press conference. “But all credit to Karen - he’s a warrior and he played the big points well.”
Kyrgios demonstrated he had healed at 1-1 in the second set when he backed up and leaped for an overhead winner, and then later stretched on his backhand for a great slice at his opponent’s feet at the net. Kyrgios finished the game showing patience on a long rally, using heavy inside-out forehands to set up an inside in forehand for the service break.
Nick Kyrgios destroyed his racquet after the loss.Credit: Getty Images
After he missed a tweener on a mental mistake in the next game, Kyrgios stayed calm and responded with a drop shot/lob combo to get back on track. Although the rocket launcher serves from both men dominated, in the rallies it often felt like the points were on Kyrgios’ racket, and the question was often whether he would win the point or give it away. Kyrgios, who did an excellent job of taking his backhands early to seize control of rallies, hit 75 winners to his opponent’s 63 and made 58 unforced errors to Khachanov’s 31.
But there was one crucial moment where it all turned on Khachanov’s performance. It came at 4-4 and 15-40 in the third set. Earlier in that game, Kyrgios threw a short forehand slice into a rally and a surprised Khachanov made an error. And at 15-30, Kyrgios hit what should have been a soul-crushing forehand winner off his opponent’s serve. The crowd went berserk, prompting the umpire to command them to “settle down please”. But it was Khachanov who settled down, firing an ace and then outlasting Kyrgios in a rally to get even. That was when Kyrgios smashed his first racket of the evening. He’d also get a warning for destroying drinks during a changeover after losing the set.
Karen Khachanov and Nick Kyrgios shake hands after the quarter-final.Credit: Getty Images
Throughout the night, Kyrgios seemed to change tactics, to the extent that his strategy seemed scattershot at times. The biggest mistake was rushing the net off his second serve: Kyrgios had won 60 per cent of his serve-and-volley points during his first four matches, but on Wednesday night he won just 6 of 15, or 40 percent. Perhaps he was doing it because he was frustrated by the number of errors he sprayed all over throughout, but those poorly timed attacks cost him repeatedly.
The high point of the evening for Kyrgios came at the end of the fourth set when the men faced off in a tiebreaker. Kyrgios threw in forehand slices and won the first rally for a mini-break, then showed great fortitude and patience again minutes later to capture a 25-shot rally. With the crowd urging him on, Kyrgios coasted to a 7-3 win.
But, on this night, there was always a “but” with Kyrgios. And in the opening game of the fifth set, it seemed he was just trying out different game plans on every point - and sometimes switching midway through. When this is successful, we praise players for adapting on the fly, but when everything falls apart, the approach can feel incoherent and Kyrgios quickly found himself down a break. It was a hole he was unable to recover from. He had fewer unforced errors in the final set than in any other, but Khachanov made only four to Kyrgios’ nine and Kyrgios failed to convert in either of the games where he snagged a break point. In the end, Kyrgios ran out of time against an opponent who was just a shade sharper at the biggest moments of the match.
Kyrgios could not contain his disappointment.
Both Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz can assume the No.1 mantle in New York.Credit: Getty
“No other tournaments matter besides the slams and all people remember at a grand slam is whether you win or lose,” he said.
Kyrgios added that, having experienced success at Wimbledon by reaching the final and then defeating Daniil Medvedev here on Sunday, makes this defeat more difficult. “I feel like crap now, I feel like I let so many people down. This was just heartbreaking.”
Ajla Tomljanovic earlier lost her quarter-final to fifth-seeded Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
Watch every match of the US Open streaming ad-free, live & on demand on Stan Sport, with centre court matches available in 4K Ultra HD.