US Open draw: Nick Kyrgios ready for tilt at Grand Slam title
Nick Kyrgios says he is ‘doing all the right things’ to claim a Grand Slam title as he opens up on the emotion of facing Thanasi Kokkinakis in the US Open first round.
Nick Kyrgios says he is “super motivated” to cap off one of the most consistent spurts of his career with a maiden Grand Slam title in New York.
And with Novak Djokovic barred from the US Open and Rafael Nadal battling an abdominal injury, four-time champion John McEnroe says the mercurial Australian is one of the top contenders if he can “keep his head together”.
The 27-year-old will begin his campaign on centre court on Tuesday morning in an all-Australian clash against close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis, before the pair later unite on the same side of the net to chase another doubles title.
After losing the Wimbledon final to Djokovic, Kyrgios won the Citi Open in Washington and knocked off world No.1 Daniil Medvedev in Montreal, a run of form the Australian said showed he was “doing all the right things” to win the US Open.
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“I don’t think we thought it was possible to contend for Grand Slams, but now it’s a genuine thing,” he said earlier this month.
But he missed out on ranking points from Wimbledon – because of the tournament’s ban on Russian players – which leaves him with a tricky draw as the 23rd seed at Flushing Meadows.
Speaking two days out from his first round match, Kyrgios said taking on Kokkinakis would be an “emotional rollercoaster”.
“It’s going to be an experience – for us to go out there and play on Arthur Ashe Stadium together is something that’s pretty special,” he said.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun. Either way, it’s something that I’m glad I get to share with him.”
But he said flying home from New York after the tournament was “all I’m thinking about”.
“I’m exhausted, that’s for sure. After Wimbledon and Washington and everything, I haven’t been able to go home and really enjoy it with my family, and just take a breath,” he said.
“I’m extremely exhausted so I know that this is my last kind of stop until I do get to go home, so I do have an eye on that.”
Top-ranked Australian Alex de Minaur will take on Serbian Filip Krajinovic in the first round, while fellow countrymen James Duckworth and Chris O’Connell will go head-to-head.
Sydney’s Rinky Hijikata received a wildcard to take on Nadal, who conceded on Saturday he was not fully fit after a “tough injury”.
“I hope to be ready for the action,” the 22-time Grand Slam champion said.
“With the tools that I have today, I hope to be competitive enough to give myself a chance.”
Kyrgios has also been battling a knee injury, but he said on Friday he was “feeling good”.
“I’ve had a great season so far, obviously finals at Wimbledon, won the Australian Open earlier this year,” he said, referring to his doubles victory with Kokkinakis.
“I’m going to give it my best shot.”
McEnroe said with Djokovic unable to play because of his refusal to be vaccinated against Covid-19, the US Open was “much more wide open”.
“Kyrgios could potentially be that guy if he is committed, but you know, it’s the old story,” he told reporters.
“If Kyrgios was able to, you know, sort of keep his head together the last couple of months … If he could continue to do that, he’d actually be one of the two, three or four guys that you would say also has a chance.”
If Kyrgios defeats Kokkinakis, Spain’s 16th seed Roberto Bautista Agut will likely be waiting in the third round, with Medvedev to come in the round of 16.
The top seed also said he thought the draw was more open than previous Grand Slams, ahead of his bid to go back-to-back in New York.
The US Open may be Kyrgios’s last tournament for the year, given his desire to return to Canberra where his mother is in hospital and his father has also been unwell.
“I’ve been on the road for nearly three months,” he said earlier this month.
“I want to try to put in good performances, make it worthwhile being here.”
Kyrgios decided against playing another tournament last week, instead practising on centre court with big-hitting American Jack Sock and watching Broadway shows The Book of Mormon and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with his girlfriend Costeen Hatzi.
He took on a live cooking challenge against former world number one Naomi Osaka, who recently suggested she wanted to play mixed doubles with Kyrgios at the US Open.
The pair were also part of an event with Nadal and the Williams sisters, during which Kyrgios praised Osaka for helping him improve his mental health.
“There was a time in my tennis career when I was really struggling and I wasn’t sure if it was okay to feel that way,” he said.
After New York, he plans to fly home instead of joining Australia’s Davis Cup squad in Germany or McEnroe’s Team World at the Laver Cup in London.
Kyrgios is due to face a Canberra court in October after he was charged with assaulting his former girlfriend. The case was adjourned last week, with his lawyer denied the “indulgence” of a requested three-month delay.
Fierce rival slaps Djokovic’s US Open absence
Rafael Nadal says he is saddened by Novak Djokovic’s absence from the US Open as he returns to the tournament for the first time in three years.
The Spanish legend has not played in New York since defeating Daniil Medvedev in five sets to lift the 2019 title.
Nadal has added three more Grand Slam singles titles to his haul since that victory, taking his total to 22 — the all-time men’s record.
While the 36-year-old will be looking to add to that tally over the next fortnight in New York, Nadal admitted that the absence of Djokovic left him “very sad.”
Djokovic confirmed last week he will play no part in the tournament after refusing to get vaccinated against Covid-19 — placing him at odds with US government travel requirements for international visitors.
“From my personal perspective, it’s very sad news,” Nadal said.
“It’s always a shame when the best players of the world are not able to play a tournament because of injuries or because of different reasons.
“In this case, not having one of the best players of the history in the draw of Grand Slam is always an important miss, no?
“Tough for the fans, tough for the tournament. In my opinion, tough for the players, too, because we want to have the best field possible.”
Yet despite Djokovic’s absence, Nadal is adamant that the tournament will not be diminished by the non-participation of the Serbian great, who is just one behind the Spaniard in Grand Slam singles titles with 21.
“I repeat what I said plenty of times: the sport in some ways is bigger than any player,” Nadal said.
“I missed a lot of important events in my tennis career because of injuries, without a doubt. Last year I was not here. Two years ago I was not here. The tournament continues. The world of tennis keep going.
“Even if is not a good news for everyone, the world continues and the tennis will continue after me, after Novak, after Roger (Federer).”
Nadal started 2022 in blistering fashion, winning both the Australian and French Opens before an abdominal muscle injury forced him to scratch from the Wimbledon semi-finals.
He returned from that injury at the Cincinnati Masters this month but exited in the second round.
Nadal said Friday he had been protecting the injury during his Cincinnati comeback.
“It’s a tough injury because it’s dangerous, it’s risky,” he said.
“When you have a scar, it’s a place that you put lot of effort when you are serving. I take it very easy in the Cincinnati, too, in the practices. The match, I try my best without putting all the effort there on the serve.” Nadal, who opens his US Open campaign against Australian wild card entrant Rinky Hijikata on Tuesday, was cautiously optimistic about his preparations.
“I am doing things the best way that I can,” he said.
“I hope to be ready for the action, no? That’s the only thing that I can say.
“Taking care with the serve, being honest. But in general terms, yes, I am practicing at high level of intensity.”
Double trouble: Special Ks to clash in US Open drawcard
- Todd Balym
Australian star Nick Kyrgios will face an emotional first up battle at the US Open next week having drawn the other half of the Special K doubles alliance, good friend Thanasi Kokkinakis, for his round one opponent.
The Wimbledon finalist is the 23rd seed for the US Open, the first time in several seasons he’s enjoyed a seeding, but it didn’t spare him a tough opening encounter.
Kokkinakis has the experience of years of head to head battles with Kyrgios from their junior days and knows his game as well as anyone.
It sets up an entertaining, but dangerous start for Kyrgios as he enters New York as one of the men to beat.
Kyrgios shared the US Open post on the match up to his Instagram stories with the caption ‘My brother let’s give “em a good show”
The Australian duo who have grown up together and won an Australian Open grand slam doubles title together earlier this year will now face off in the round 1 in New York.
If Kyrgios can put emotion and sentiment to the side, it’s a match he should win on form but he’ll also confront a friend who knows his game inside out.
It doesn’t get much easier from there for Kyrgios, because he’s also in the same section of the draw as world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev.
Kyrgios could face Medvedev in the fourth round.
While Kyrgios recently defeated the Russian on the hard courts, even he conceded Medvedev is a totally different beast in the grand slam competition where it takes three set wins to claim victory.
The draw took place in New York only hours after Novak Djokovic officially withdrew from the tournament, having waited and waited in hope for the US government to change their immigration policy and allow unvaccinated international travellers into the country.
It is now the second grand slam tournament Djokovic has missed due to his vaccination status after he was also deported from Australia earlier this year.
“Sadly, I will not be able to travel to NY this time for US Open,” Djokovic wrote on Twitter.
Sadly, I will not be able to travel to NY this time for US Open. Thank you #NoleFam for your messages of love and support. â¤ï¸ Good luck to my fellow players! I’ll keep in good shape and positive spirit and wait for an opportunity to compete again. 💪🼠See you soon tennis world! 👋ðŸ¼
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) August 25, 2022
In her final tennis tournament before retirement, legendary US champion Serena Williams will play Danka Kovinic of Montenegro. A player with a career-high ranking of No. 46 in the world who has never progressed beyond the second round in New York.
Djokovic ban slammed by tennis legend
John McEnroe has said it is a joke that the unvaccinated Novak Djokovic cannot enter the United States to compete at next week’s US Open.
Djokovic is still waiting to see if the US government will relax the mandatory Covid-19 vaccination requirement for foreign travellers. The Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) decided to relax protocols within community settings two weeks ago but no change has yet been made to the rules surrounding travel.
Time is running out before the start of the grand-slam tournament in New York on Monday (local).
Djokovic remains on the entry list before tomorrow’s (Thursday’s) draw and could conceivably hold off on a withdrawal until the day before his first-round match on Monday or Tuesday.
“I don’t think it’s fair,” McEnroe, the four-times US Open champion and Eurosport pundit, said. “I think it’s a joke. I would have had the vaccine and gone and played but he’s got very strong beliefs and you have to respect that.
“At this point, in the pandemic, we’re 2 and a half years in, I think people in all parts of the world know more about it, and the idea that he can’t travel here to play, to me is a joke.”
Djokovic’s decision to hold off on a withdrawal has had some ramifications for other players. The first alternate, Carlos Taberner, will now have to win three matches in qualifying to reach the main draw rather than claiming direct entry, while Taberner’s fellow Spaniard Pol Martin Tiffon missed out on a place in qualifying and a cheque for $30,000.
If Djokovic pulls out before his match, he will be replaced by a lucky loser from the final round of qualifying.
This would be the second grand-slam tournament that Djokovic has missed this year because of his refusal to be vaccinated – he was deported before the Australian Open on “health and good order” grounds after a visa mix-up. The 35-year-old Serb won his 21st major trophy at Wimbledon last month but remains one behind the men’s singles record-holder, Rafael Nadal.
“Who’s to say [Djokovic] can’t do it for another couple of years?” McEnroe said. “Let’s say that he wins three or four more. That’s not impossible by any means. Despite this, he can still get to 25.”
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