Nick Kyrgios has eliminated fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis in the opening round of the US Open 2022 men’s singles competition.
New York, USA, 30 August 2022 | Leigh Rogers
Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis took centre stage on day one at this year’s US Open.
The Special K’s highly anticipated first-round showdown was played at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York this evening, in front of the tournament’s biggest-ever opening-night crowd.
😁 @NickKyrgios 🤝 @TKokkinakis 😁#GoAussies | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/SnKoeFD1Wg
— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) August 30, 2022
The close friends are used to sharing the court, memorably teaming up to claim the Australian Open doubles title earlier this season. However, this was only their third singles clash in their professional careers, and first in more than eight years.
And as Kokkinakis quickly discovered, it is much more enjoyable being on the same side of the court.
World No.25 Kyrgios proved too hot to handle, powering to a 6-3 6-4 7-6(4) victory in two hours.
“When we both saw the draw, it was a nightmare. Honestly, we never want to play each other,” Kyrgios said.
“He probably beats 80 per cent of the draw tonight. He’s been playing really good and I’ve just got so much respect for him.
“I can’t wait to get out there and play doubles with him on the right side of the net.”
Kyrgios took the opening set in 30 minutes, with only a single break required to gain an important edge.
The Wimbledon 2022 finalist, who entered the tournament with 22 wins from his past 27 matches, continued to stamp his authority on the match and broke Kokkinakis’ serve to love to open the second set.
Although Kokkinakis kept pushing, the world No.70 couldn’t reel in his confident opponent.
“We just know each other’s games like the back of our hands,” Kyrgios said. “We’ve played together since we were about nine years old … I just played the bigger points well early on.”
Kyrgios finished the match with 42 winners to Kokkinakis’ 30. The 27-year-old was dominant on serve as well, not facing a single break point.
The impressive victory moves Kyrgios into the second round, where he’ll face world No.50 Benjamin Bonzi. It will be his first career meeting with the 26-year-old Frenchman.
Kyrgios is the fourth Australian winner on day one at Flushing Meadows.
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