Unsurprisingly, the most polarizing figure in men’s tennis has not gone unnoticed at the US Open. Every single word Nick Kyrgios says in front of a camera is heavily scrutinized. Each one of his actions draws a bold reaction from the public opinion and, of course, there is no middle ground.
After his first round win, the Australian threw a towel to the stands. The issue is, he had deliberately spat on it and also wiped his crotch and armpits beforehand. As soon as the video surfaced, the jury reached a unanimous verdict: Kyrgios is such a disgusting individual and the worst thing to happen to tennis ever since Thailand’s Paradorn Srichaphan quit the sport to become a monk.
Two days later, Kyrgios was shown taking a picture and exchanging a few words with a fan who suffered alopecia, just like his brother Christos. All of the sudden, Kyrgios became the second coming of Mahatma Gandhi.
Battle of former #1 juniors versus Andrey Rublev
While his antics are always stealing the spotlight, Kyrgios’ play thru two rounds in New York has been rock-solid. The No. 28 seed dismissed both Steve Johnson and Antoine Hoang in straights. In the round of 32, the 24-year-old is set to face the hard-hitting Andrey Rublev, whom he showed the utmost respect during his latest press conference.
“He’s a young fearless player who’s been playing really well the last couple weeks. Obviously, he had that win over Roger [Federer],” Kyrgios told reporters in New York. “He plays big from both sides. He’s a great player and he’s going to have a great future. I played him once in Moscow and it was an incredibly tough match so it’s going to be tough for sure.”
Based on the Kremlin Cup precedent, this matchup will likely produce an eye-popping highlight reel. That’s a given with a match involving a motivated Kyrgios. However, he appears to be genuinely incentivized to let his racket do the talking this fortnight. Perhaps the ATP’s threat to ban him prompted a sense of urgency to perform well.
Kyrgios is all about business in New York
One of Kyrgios’ main liabilities over the past couple years is his tendency to play down to the level of the opposition. Instead of corroborating his superiority for the get-go, he often shows up unprepared and disinterested whenever he is a big favorite.
Speaking in NFL terms, Kyrgios is the equivalent of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the past few years. Both flash tantalizing potential. Fans gloat over their unparalleled array of offensive weapons. Pundits hype them up whenever they obtain a few impressive wins. However, they are adept at offering mediocre performances against inferior foes and there’s always some sort of drama around. Thus, they keep coming up short when it matters.
This week though, at least on court, Kyrgios has imitated the New England Patriots. He was expected to cruise through his first couple rounds and he did not disappoint.
“To beat two quality opponents in straights sets is a bonus. Every time you play a Grand Slam and get it done in straight sets in the early rounds, it saves a lot of energy and legs,” Kyrgios said.
Kyrgios’ ability to elevate his game and play toe-to-toe against the world’s best is well-known. But can he sustain his level for two weeks? That’s a huge question mark. At the time of writing, betting markets do not rule him out. Hence, at 16 to 1, he’s the fourth favorite to lift the trophy next Sunday, only behind the Big 3. According to Tennis Abstract’s US Open Forecast, the mercurial Aussie has a 2% chance of emerging victorious in New York.
Watch out if he makes it to Week Two
Believe it or not, the US Open marks only the fourth time in 2019 in which Kyrgios manages to win two consecutive matches. Let’s see how he fared on the previous three instances. In Acapulco, he obtained a major confidence boost after upsetting his great friend Rafael Nadal that he went on to defeat Stan Wawrinka, John Isner and Alexander Zverev en route to his first title of the season.
At the Miami Masters, Kyrgios crashed out in the round of 16 against Borna Coric after squandering a one set lead. He lost his composure late in the second set and he barely put up a fight in the third. Lastly, merely a month ago in Washington D.C., Kyrgios captured his second ATP 500 crown of the campaign, collecting six wins in a row. His tremendous run at the Citi Open included two Top 10 victories over Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev.
Kyrgios has not reached the quarterfinals of a Major since the 2015 Australian Open, but count him out at your own peril.
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