NEW YORK — Nick Kyrgios promised he’d put on a show. And against the defending champion Daniil Medvedev, the US Open was his stage. He said it took 27 years of perseverance and readjustment to be able to put together that four-set dismantling of the world number one.
Kyrgios has always had a love-hate relationship with tennis. For all the box office moments and matches where he has swiped away an opponent, there have been other occasions where he has lost his cool, or looked uninterested.
But it finally clicked, and after reaching the final in Wimbledon, Kyrgios may well be the favorite to win it all in Flushing Meadows. Playing a perfect match in tennis is a Sisyphean task, but Kyrgios is reaching the level where when he’s locked in, he’s unbeatable.
“I’m just trying to not let people down,” Kyrgios said after beating Medvedev. “I was in this press conference room a while back and I lost in the third round, it was the worst feeling because I’ve just got so much expectation. I’m finally able to show it now. I feel like I’ve been working really hard. I’ve just got a lot of motivation at the moment.”
It all came together against Medvedev. Afterwards he said to the crowd: “I’m just glad I’m finally able to show New York my talent. I haven’t had too many great trips here.”
They’d witnessed a two hour, 53 minute match which included the complete Kyrgios repertoire: the lethal serve, deft backhand slices, the rocket forehand, dabs of petulance and a moment many had never seen before in a match.
No wonder he’s likely the hottest ticket in town now that Serena’s gone. You can’t take your eyes off him. It feels like the crowd is waiting for their next Instagram-able moment, whether it’s a shot from the heavens or Kyrgios losing his cool.
During the match he smashed his racket to the ground face-down twice, boomed one loose ball against the back wall a few inches below spectators, was hit with a warning for audible obscenity and argued with the chair umpire over the shot clock continually running on serve when he was trying to wipe the sweat off his hands.
That behavior could be cause for a crowd to turn against a player. But instead, whenever he waved his arms upwards towards the packed Arthur Ashe Stadium on break point, the crowd responded with a crescendo of noise. Medvedev imitated him at stages, but didn’t get quite as much of a response.
In an arena which has resembled a heavyweight boxing crowd at stages throughout the tournament –…
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