On Sunday evening, the ATP Tour’s No. 1 ranked player Daniil Medvedev and this year’s Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios met under the lights of the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York to battle for a spot in the Quarter Finals of the US Open.
The two stars endured just under three hours of gruelling tennis in humid conditions which ended with Nick Kyrgios winning by 3 sets to 2 (713–611, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2).
The match was destined to be a blockbuster as both players have had an impressive 2022 so far. Medvedev reached the Australian Open Final and won the ATP 250 Final in Los Cabos. Kyrgios on the other hand picked up the singles title in Washington DC and reached the Final of Wimbledon. So, here’s how the match unfolded.
Kyrgios takes the first set
With Medvedev’s high first serve accuracy and Kyrgios’ serve firing on all cylinders, it was no surprise that the first set went to a tiebreak. The tiebreak started off in Nick’s favour as the Australian took a four point lead which was soon disappeared after a series of lengthy rallies won by his rival.
The highlight of the tiebreak came when Medvedev was 8-7 up and Nick produced a moment of magic by hitting a backhand slice volley down the line with it landing in by just millimetres. The score went back and forth for a further five minutes until it reached 11-11. Then, Nick won two important points including a risky no-look drop shot to take the first set 13-11.
Medvedev levels the score at 1 set all
In the second set, the Russian came out all guns blazing by winning the first three games. Although Kyrgios was able to grab three games for himself, a handful of unforced errors from the Aussie resulted in Medvedev taking the set 6-3.
Kyrgios back in the zone for the third set
After the back and forth points seen in the first two sets, it seemed like the match was likely to head to five sets. However, Kyrgios was able to refocus during his break at the end of set two as he took an early break point and held his serve to lead the set 5-2. Although Medvedev was able to revive a game, the Aussie’s serve was too much and he quickly closed out the third set 6-3.
Amidst the rivalry, the third set saw a display of top sportsmanship when Medvedev crossed the net to check on his opponent who had taken a scary fall during a point. The gesture was met with applause from the New York crowd.
The third set also saw one of the more bizarre moments of the match. At 30-30, Kyrgios lost a guaranteed break point when he ran around the net to hit a smash from Medvedev’s shot that hadn’t yet bounced. Although the moment was pure entertainment, Medvedev was rightfully awarded the point.
An Aussie serve & volley masterclass
From the start of the fourth set, the match quickly turned into the Nick Kyrgios show when the 27-year-old unleashed his talent by putting on a masterclass serve and volley performance. By exposing Medvedev’s deep court position and mixing up a range of shots, Nick found himself 5-1 up in the blink of an eye. Medvedev held serve to bring the score to 2-5 but a faultless service game and a down-the-line ace gave Nick the win at 6-2.
Nick will now face another Russian player by the name of Karen Khachanov in the Quarter-Final on Tuesday night. Khachanov had an easy third round match against British player Jack Draper but endured a five set thriller against Pablo Carreño Busta in the fourth round. The Russian will need all of his energy to cope with Kyrgios and the question is, will he be able to recover in time?
