By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, September 4, 2022
Nick Kyrgios dethroned defending champion Daniil Medvedev 7-6(11), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 charging into his first US Open quarterfinal.
Photo credit: Sarah Stier/Getty
NEW YORK—Chaos conductor Nick Kyrgios rocked Arthur Ashe Stadium and rolled Daniil Medvedev right out of the US Open.
In a masterful performance of jolting power and timely touch, Kyrgios dethroned defending US Open champion Medvedev 7-6(11), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 charging into his first US Open quarterfinal.
Gauff: I Always Root for Kyrgios
Arthur Ashe Stadium fans showered the 23rd-seeded Aussie with an extended ovation as he deconstructed Medvedev with a dynamic all-court attack and frustrated the world No. 1 with dangerous unpredictability.
"It was an amazing match," Kyrgios told ESPN's Patrick McEnroe in his on-court interview. "Obviously Daniil is defending champion. What a place to do it packed house in New York I'm extremely [happy]."
The loss ends Medvedev's quest to become the first man since Roger Federer in 2008 to successfully defend the US Open and means the Australian Open finalist will lose his world No. 1 ranking when thew new ATP rankings are released on September 12th.
"Look, I'm trying to look good here, but I'm disappointed," Medvedev told the media. "Not going to cry in the room, but I'm a little bit disappointed. For few days I'm going to be just a little bit sad, looking at my phone, my laptop or watching some series.
"Yeah, it was not the first thing on my mind walking after the match, saying, Damn, will not be the world No. 1 any more. I actually don't know which place I will be. Probably 3, 4. I guess Carlos will pass me. I don't know actually. But that's motivation, try to do better. Obviously it was the last slam of the year. Didn't do well enough. Didn't win in Australia when I had the chance. Didn't get the chance to play Wimbledon. Roland Garros, lost fourth round. Here fourth round. Yeah, should do better. Should get more points if I want to be world No. 1 again."
Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios made global headlines before the tournament picking third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz to win this US Open. Kyrgios may want to revise his pick after a dazzling display tonight.
The explosive Kyrgios served 71 percent, pumped 21 aces and denied five of eight break points defeating Medvedev for the fourth time in five meetings while avenging his Australian Open loss last January.
The performance left Medvedev suggesting Kyrgios can take the title if he can continue this lofty level of play for three more matches.
"He's tough to play. He has an amazing serve," Medvedev said of Kyrgios. "But from baseline it's not like when the point starts, you know that you have the advantage. He plays good.
"He has every shot. It was a really high-level match, I mean, from him. If he plays like this till end of the tournament, he has all the chances to win it. But he's going to get tough opponents, so it's not sure."
Playing some insanely creative points, Kyrgios treated fans to the entire shot spectrum, hitting the tweener underarm serve, befuddling Medvedev with feathery drop shots, slashing drives down both lines and even crossing over the net to play a shot that resulted in Kyrgios losing a point he later called "a boneheaded play."
That was one of the few mis-steps Kyrgios made tonight advancing to his fourth Grand Slam quarterfinal while improving to 3-2 lifetime vs. world No. 1 players.
It was Kyrgios' second win over Medvedev in a month solidifying his status as a true title contender in New York. On August 10th, Kyrgios roared through the final five games toppling the world No. 1 in Montreal 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-2.
"I'm just really happy and hopefully I can keep it going," Kyrgios said. "I want to make it count. This is the last trip before I go back to Australia. I want to go all the way. Hopefully it's possible."
Kyrgios' comfort level in the front court was key to reaching his maiden US Open quarterfinal. Kyrgios nearly tripled the Russian baseliner in net points won, claiming 29 of 47 trips to net, while Medvedev won 10 of 17 trips to net.
The 23rd-seeded Kyrgios will play 27th-seeded Karen Khachanov for a semifinal spot. Earlier, Khachanov faced only two break points fending off 12th-seeded Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in a three hour, 21-minute battle on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
A night-session crowd of 23,859 was entertaining by an engaging duel between the pair. Kyrgios dug in and denied three set points to take the first-set tiebreaker he called critical to his win.
"The first set I guess was the most important thing. I feel like if he'd got that first set, it was going to be pretty much an impossible task for me to come back and win," Kyrgios said. "I just thought I played the right way. I returned unbelievable today. Just thought the third and fourth set were just so free.
"I was just having a lot of fun, embracing every moment out on Ashe today. Really proud of that. Obviously I felt like I disrupted his rhythm a little bit, didn't let him kind of get comfy behind the baseline, play his style of tennis. I think that's what you have to do."
The top seed won the coin toss and elected to receive. Medvedev faced double break point in his opening service game, but used his trademark backhand down the line to escape trouble and level after two games.
Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios made his move in the sixth game. Redirecting a diagonal backhand return, Kyrgios gained his third set point. Kyrgios threw his hands up in the air urging Arthur Ashe Stadium fans to make more noise. Fans obliged and Kyrgios responded blocking back a return. Medvedev got the midcourt ball he wanted, but yanked a forehand wide as Kyrgios drew first blood and the break for 4-2.
Undaunted, Medvedev answered with a big backhand pass down the line. The defending champion took his turn to encourage fans to erupt and they answered accordingly. When Kyrgios netted a drive, Medvevev was right back on serve..
The reigning champion capped a quick love hold with an ace to level after 10 games.
For the fourth straight encounter between the pair, the first set was decided by a tie breaker.
Dizzying drama and some outrageous shotmaking highlighted an electric breaker that saw Kyrgios carve out some tremendous set point saves.
The Australian Open doubles champion fought off three set points, including a backhand return winner down the line to save the second set point and a slick low backhand volley that kissed the sideline for 8-8.
Meanwhile Medvedev saved set points of his own as the drama intensified. Kyrgiso conjured an outrageous backhand drop shot barely dropped over for a fourth set point 12-11. Kyrgios faked a drop shot, shoveled an approach down the line and took a one-set lead when Medvedev's forehand pass went wide.
After Kyrgios left court briefly for a bathroom break, he returned to face triple break point in his opening service game of set two.
Kyrgios erased the second with a forehand winner while falling backward and rocketed an ace to save the third break point. Kyrgios committed three double faults in the game and paid the price when he nudged a backhand volley into net as Medvedev broke for a 2-0 second-set lead.
The Russian rolled through his service game, confirming the break for 3-0.
Playing cleaner tennis throughout the set, Medvedev committed eight fewer errors as Kyrgios played a few sloppy points in the set. Medvedev level at one set apiece after 99 minutes of play.
In the second game of the third set, Kyrgios slipped trying to change direction and crashed to the hard court falling flat on the seat of his shorts. Medvedev crossed the net to check on his fallen foe and the pair exchanged a high-five.
In a bizarre move that could only happen in a Kyrgios match, the animated Aussie ran around the net to play a Medvedev shot before it bounced. That illegal cross of the net cost Kyrgios what would have been break point. Medvedev exploited the miscue holding for 1-1.
"I honestly thought it was legal when I was doing it," Kyrgios told his box.
Resetting, Kyrgios recovered from 40-love down in Medvedev's next service game, blocking a volley and blasting a return to break for 3-1. Kyrgios curled a 117 serve winner down the middle for 4-1.
The Kyrgios serve is imposing and indecipherable to opponents trying to read it. Kyrgios' skill dotting every corner of the service box from the same toss makes his delivery deceptive. Serving for the third set, Kyrgios cranked three stinging serves in a row wrapping the third set. The Wimbledon finalist was one set from the US Open quarterfinals after two hours, 19 minutes.
Leaving the court to regroup, Medvedev confronted a major stress test in the third game. Kyrgios stepped in and scalded a forehand for break point. In an uncharacteristic error, Medvedev dumped his favored two-handed backhand into net as Kyrgios collected a 2-1 fourth-set lead.
A moment of truth came for Kyrgios in the fourth game as he was hit with an audible obscenity warning right before staring down a break point. Kyrgios pressed major mute button torching three tremendous serves in a row— a 122 mph aces saved break point, a 131 mph blast down the T gave the Aussie game point and a 124 mph missile ended the game as Kyrgios went up 3-0.
The top-seeded Medvedev made the mistake of testing the Aussie's backhand return on break point and paid a predictable price. Kyrgios backed Medvedev up with his return then unloaded a heavy forehand breaking again for 4-1.
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The frustration of facing Kyrgios boiled over in Medvedev. After Kyrgios clubbed an ace down the middle for 5-1, the defending champion belted a ball off the back blue wall drawing some jeers in the process.
Serving for his first US Open quarterfinal, Kyrgios slammed one final ace down the middle dethroning the defending champion in two hours, 53 minutes and spiking a resounding roar from the Arthur Ashe Stadium fans.
On this night, the showman took down the champion.
The 27-year-old Kyrgios has spoken publicly about battling depression and thoughts of self-harm in the past. Emerging from the shadows of those "scary places" Kyrgios shined on the game's biggest Grand Slam stage.
"I feel like I'm more just proud of the way that I've bounced back after everything, honestly. Like, I've been in some really tough situations mentally, and in some really scary places," Kyrgios said. "So, yeah, obviously if you look at it on paper, I probably wasn't expected to win that. Maybe take a set or two if I'm lucky. Give the people a show. I don't know, yeah, it's a great win.
"But I come off the court and I'm just almost relieved that it's over because there's just so much pressure every time I go out on court, so much expectation, so much unpredictability of what I can do.
" just sit there in the locker room after and I'm just super proud of the performance because there was really a time where I didn't think I was capable of producing and doing this any more. I don't know. I guess I'm just more relieved. I'm just more relieved. I'm super proud, yeah."