Nick Kyrgios LOSES to Karen Khachanov in a five-set US Open thriller that runs late into the night, despite the Australian telling his corner “I don’t want to play that shit” after a medical time-out with a knee problem.
- Nick Kyrgios lost the first set 7-5 to Karen Khachanov and took a medical break
- The Australian won the next set but soon began to get frustrated with his game
- It helped Russia’s Khachanov then win the third set 7-5 against Arthur Ashe
- Kyrgios won fourth in a tiebreak but Khachanov got his first major semifinal
Nick Kyrgios left the US Open less with a bang and more with a whimper as he succumbed to the brutal power of Karen Khachanov.
The Australian will now begin the journey home he has been talking longingly about after falling 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4 in three hours and 39 minutes and beating the time by 1 o’clock in the morning is dead.
Initially plagued by a knee problem – and perhaps regretting the decision to play doubles here – he never really got going and at times seemed subdued in a serve-dominated match that shared 61 aces almost evenly.
Nick Kyrgios is eliminated from the US Open after a five-set loss to Karen Khachanov
Shortly after his defeat, Kyrgios Khachanov shook hands and smashed his racquet
Kyrgios was given a medical time-out after the first set and was heard saying, “I can’t walk.”
It was a thrilling match against Arther Ashe, which Khachanov emerged victorious after five sets
It was a transformative summer for Kyrgios, but this was a disappointing end, although he fought to the end when previously he might have folded.
With no previous champion in the field, this was an excellent opportunity for him to join the ranks of Australia’s Major winners.
Instead, the strapping and slightly mechanical Khachanov, who retained his focus admirably, now meets Norway’s Casper Ruud for a place in the final.
Kyrgios moves with an odd gait at his best, but there was definitely something less animated about him as the opening movement sped off at lightning speed.
Amid a string of aces from both men, the opening 11 games lasted just half an hour before Kyrgios left the door open in a tight 12th for the Russian to get a foot in.
Then came the call for the coach, who entered the pitch to frantically massage what initially appeared to be both sides of the Australian’s left knee.
“I don’t want to play through that shit,” he told his support box in the corner – before promptly playing on and breaking Khachanov in the third game.
But Kyrgios went the distance in a five-sentence thriller about Arthur Ashe that went deep into the night
The winner, however, was Khachanov, who now moves into the semifinals
Khachanov celebrates after finally winning the match at 1am in New York
Slowly gaining the upper hand, he limited himself to chattering as the endings of what was, in truth, often uninspiring competition changed.
His temper broke when he missed a second break point in the third at 4-4, threw his racquet away in disgust and yelled some very audible obscenities which referee James Keothavong ignored. He eventually waived an unsportsmanlike conduct violation for throwing a water bottle.
Kyrgios had to save two set points in the next game, one of which came from a badly missed forehand by Khachanov as he charged into the net.
The Russian didn’t make the same mistake when two more presented themselves in the next game, staying in the rally and winning it when Kyrgios hit a backhand.
As the clock ticked towards midnight, the Aussie paused only to return it immediately with an easy hold at love to his dourly determined opponent.
An increasingly uncouth crowd – which had previously included a man who had his hair cut – roared him into the tie-break, in which he was always in charge, and won 7-3.
While the knee no longer appeared to be an issue, he got off to a poor start in the decider when it was fractured and regretted taking just two of nine break points.
As a final act, after shaking hands, he smashed his bat.
