With his big serve firing, Nick Kyrgios defeats Mikael Ymer to reach an 11th ATP singles final at the Citi Open in Washington.
Washington DC, USA , 7 August 2022 | Vivienne Christie
Nick Kyrgios will contest a second singles final for the season, and the 11th of his career, at the Citi Open in Washington.
The 27-year-old Australian is vying for a seventh career title and a second at the ATP 500-level tournament, after lifting the trophy in Washington in 2019.
Kyrgios’ progress through the 2022 edition includes victories over three-higher ranked opponents, with five match points saved against No.10 seed Frances Tiafoe in yesterday’s gruelling quarterfinal.
A semifinal victory over Mikael Ymer was far less fraught, with Kyrgios achieving a 7-6(4) 6-3 victory over the Swede in 96 minutes.
It was a fifth semifinal appearance from Kyrgios’ past six tournaments, with an injury withdrawal in Mallorca the only blip in that streak.
His best performance was at Wimbledon, where the unseeded Australian progressed to the first Grand Slam final of his career.
Kyrgios’ trademark serve is proving a brilliant feature of his overall progress at this year’s Citi Open, with the world No.63 yet to be broken in five matches at the event.
He fired 10 aces against the Ymer and didn’t face a break point for the match. Winning 36 of 47 points on his first serve, Kyrgios was even more impressive with 15 of 19 won on his second.
Through to his 11th career final! 🔥@NickKyrgios takes out Ymer 7-6(4), 6-3 to advance in D.C.@CitiOpen | #CitiOpen pic.twitter.com/suHxC22UGI
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 7, 2022
It was particularly pleasing after his epic quarterfinal win over Tiafoe. “I didn’t get to sleep until 4.50am. I just had so much adrenaline,” Kyrgios related. “My body was so sore after last night. It was an epic battle.”
Admitting that he’d started flat against world No.115 Ymer, Kyrgios sees room for improvement when he faces Andrey Rublev or Yoshihito Nishioka in tomorrow’s final.
“He’s an incredible athlete. I really wasn’t expecting him to be that fast. He’s lightning,” said Kyrgios of the Swede.
“It was a tough-fought semifinal. I’m just happy to be in the final once again.”
Kyrgios is also in doubles action later today together with American Jack Sock, as the pair face Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the last match of the day.
A winner of the Australian Open and…
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