The Aussie played to perfection at Flushing Meadows

Not sure of one of the most relevant rules, Nick Kyrgios lost a point by running around the net to hit a ball that was going to fall out. He yelled at the guest box about him. He argued with the chair umpire. The biggest thing, and it has happened to him more recently than ever, was that Kyrgios won, knocking out defending US Open champion and No. 1 ranked Daniil Medvevev.

Building on the momentum he generated by reaching the Wimbledon final, Kyrgios advanced to the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows for the first time by beating Medvedev 7-6 (11), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday night.

Best result for Kyrgios at the US Open

The 23rd-seeded Kyrgios, a 27-year-old Australian, had never made it past the third round of the US Open until now, going 0-4 at that stage until this year. But Kyrgios also hasn’t managed to convert his unquestioned ability into excellent play or any semblance of consistency like he’s been doing lately.

“I’m glad I can finally show my talent to New York,” he said. “I haven’t had too many good trips here.”

He reached his first Grand Slam semi-final, then his first Grand Slam final, at the All England Club in July, before losing to Novak Djokovic in the title match. Kyrgios then won his first ATP title in three years in Washington in August. He followed that up with a victory over Medvedev in a hard court tournament in Montreal shortly after. He leads the ATP Tour in wins since June.

And now, with his great serve producing 21 aces on Sunday, and his break-through style working perfectly against Medvedev, Kyrgios should be considered a serious championship contender at the US Open.

Medvedev, meanwhile, was playing well enough to win all nine sets he played in Week 1 and looked poised to become the first man to win back-to-back trophies in New York since Roger Federer won the last of his five in a row. . from 2004-08.

Medvedev will lose the number 1 of the ATP ranking

Instead, Medvedev, whose win over Djokovic in the 2021 US Open final ended his bid for the first calendar year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since 1969, will relinquish the No. 1 ranking spot. Three players have a chance to replace him there: Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud.

On Tuesday, Kyrgios will face No. 27 seed Karen Khachanov for a spot in the semifinals.

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