Australia’s Nick Kyrgios on Sunday sent defending champion Daniil Medvedev tumbling out of the US Open as US teenager Coco Gauff reached the quarter-finals for the first time.
The notoriously temperamental 23rd-seeded Kyrgios produced some scintillating shot-making on his way to a superb 7-6 (13/11), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over the world No. 1 from Russia.
Kyrgios, who was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final in July, showed grit and composure to save three set points in the opening set, before holding his nerve to win an epic tiebreak 13/11 before a raucous Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd.
Photo: AP
Although Kyrgios dropped the second set, he roared back to dominate Medvedev in the third and fourth sets to clinch victory in 2 hours, 53 minutes.
“It was an amazing match, obviously Daniil as the defending champion had a lot of pressure on his shoulders, but I’ve been playing amazing the last couple of months,” Kyrgios said after the win.
“What a place to do it — packed house in New York. I’m extremely blessed,” he said.
Photo: AFP
Medvedev said that the mercurial Kyrgios had elevated his play to the same level as greats such as Rafael Nadal and Djokovic.
“Nick today played kind of at the level of Novak and Rafa,” said the 26-year-old after seeing 21 aces and 53 winners whiz past him. “If he plays like this until the end of the tournament, he has all the chances to win it.”
Kyrgios next faces Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals.
Khachanov equaled his best performance in a Grand Slam event by defeating Spanish 12th seed Pablo Carreno Busta in a five-set thriller.
The 27th-seeded Khachanov dug deep to down Carreno Busta 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Elsewhere in the fourth round, fifth seed Casper Ruud became the first Norwegian man to reach the US Open quarter-finals with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2 victory over French lucky loser Corentin Moutet.
The 23-year-old Ruud, seeded fifth, next faces Italy’s Matteo Berrettini for a place in the semi-finals.
Berrettini extended his impressive run of Grand Slam singles performances with a 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 defeat of Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
In the women’s singles, rising American star Gauff kept home hopes alive with a battling 7-5, 7-5 win over China’s Zhang Shuai at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 18-year-old 12th seed next plays France’s in-form Caroline Garcia for a place in the semi-finals.
Garcia, the world No. 17, has emerged as a dark horse in New York, despite a modest record in Grand Slams.
In the third round of the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Shuko Aoyama of Japan fell to a 6-2, 6-0 defeat to Czech third seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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