Karen Khachanov upset Nick Kyrgios 7-5 4-6 7-5 6-7(3) 6-4 at the US Open on Tuesday to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.
Russian Khachanov seeded 27th, fired an unreturnable serve on match point to seal the win over the Australian, who had knocked out world number one Daniil Medvedev in the previous round.
Khachanov was better in the intense match's biggest moments, saving seven of the nine break points he faced, often with his thundering serve.
“Crazy match like I was expecting it would be,” he said in an on-court interview after his second straight five-set win.
“I am ready to run, to fight, to play five sets. We played again for almost four hours and that's the only way to beat Nick I think.”
Kyrgios, known as much for his explosive temper as his blistering serve, came out with surprisingly little energy and dropped the first set when Khachanov hit a perfect lob.
Kyrgios, who has the most wins of any player on Tour since June, received medical attention on his left knee before the start of the second set, raising the prospect he might retire from the match when he said he “could not walk”.
But he persevered and broke early in the second set, which he claimed with a cross court backhand winner as he began to grow more animated, yelling at the players' box for encouragement and bringing the crowd to its feet with some spectacular shotmaking.
Khachanov grabbed the third set and the players exchanged breaks early in the fourth to set up a tiebreaker dominated by Kyrgios.
Momentum swung firmly in Khachanov's direction when he broke to open the decider on a backhand error by Kyrgios and continued to hold serve until the finish.
“I tried to stay focused in the match,” Khachanov said.
“I had some opportunities in the fourth set but he played an amazing tiebreak and what can I do? I can stay focused and try to win the next set,” Khachanov said.
“I'm proud of myself, I was focused from the beginning to the end and I got the win.”
Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios, who smashed rackets in frustration after the match ended, said he was “devastated” after the loss.
“I feel like I let so many people down,” he told reporters.
“These four tournaments are the only ones that matter and I feel I have to start all over again.”
Khachanov will next face Norway's Casper Ruud for a place in the final.
Fifth seed Ruud pushed past Italian Matteo Berrettini 6-1 6-4 7-6(4).
The French Open runner-up beat Berrettini on clay in July's Gstaad final and looked just as effective on the hard court, hanging back behind the baseline to absorb the 13th seed's power.
Sprinting through a sublime first set in which he produced just two unforced errors, it looked like Ruud was on track for a blowout victory when he was up 5-1 in the second set.
“Everything sort of went in my favour. I was hitting all the spots, all the shots that I needed to. Matteo was maybe not showing the level he typically does,” said Ruud.
But Berrettini, who was sidelined several times this season due to injury or illness, slowly began to find his usual level and appeared to have cracked the code in the third set when he broke Ruud in the second game and saved four breaks in the third.
Ruud mustered a terrific comeback, breaking Berrettini in the ninth and never trailed in the tiebreak. — Reuters
Khachanov topples Kyrgios to reach US Open semis
Image: Elsa/Getty Images
Karen Khachanov upset Nick Kyrgios 7-5 4-6 7-5 6-7(3) 6-4 at the US Open on Tuesday to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.
Russian Khachanov seeded 27th, fired an unreturnable serve on match point to seal the win over the Australian, who had knocked out world number one Daniil Medvedev in the previous round.
Khachanov was better in the intense match's biggest moments, saving seven of the nine break points he faced, often with his thundering serve.
“Crazy match like I was expecting it would be,” he said in an on-court interview after his second straight five-set win.
“I am ready to run, to fight, to play five sets. We played again for almost four hours and that's the only way to beat Nick I think.”
Kyrgios, known as much for his explosive temper as his blistering serve, came out with surprisingly little energy and dropped the first set when Khachanov hit a perfect lob.
Kyrgios, who has the most wins of any player on Tour since June, received medical attention on his left knee before the start of the second set, raising the prospect he might retire from the match when he said he “could not walk”.
But he persevered and broke early in the second set, which he claimed with a cross court backhand winner as he began to grow more animated, yelling at the players' box for encouragement and bringing the crowd to its feet with some spectacular shotmaking.
Khachanov grabbed the third set and the players exchanged breaks early in the fourth to set up a tiebreaker dominated by Kyrgios.
Momentum swung firmly in Khachanov's direction when he broke to open the decider on a backhand error by Kyrgios and continued to hold serve until the finish.
“I tried to stay focused in the match,” Khachanov said.
“I had some opportunities in the fourth set but he played an amazing tiebreak and what can I do? I can stay focused and try to win the next set,” Khachanov said.
“I'm proud of myself, I was focused from the beginning to the end and I got the win.”
Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios, who smashed rackets in frustration after the match ended, said he was “devastated” after the loss.
“I feel like I let so many people down,” he told reporters.
“These four tournaments are the only ones that matter and I feel I have to start all over again.”
Khachanov will next face Norway's Casper Ruud for a place in the final.
Fifth seed Ruud pushed past Italian Matteo Berrettini 6-1 6-4 7-6(4).
The French Open runner-up beat Berrettini on clay in July's Gstaad final and looked just as effective on the hard court, hanging back behind the baseline to absorb the 13th seed's power.
Sprinting through a sublime first set in which he produced just two unforced errors, it looked like Ruud was on track for a blowout victory when he was up 5-1 in the second set.
“Everything sort of went in my favour. I was hitting all the spots, all the shots that I needed to. Matteo was maybe not showing the level he typically does,” said Ruud.
But Berrettini, who was sidelined several times this season due to injury or illness, slowly began to find his usual level and appeared to have cracked the code in the third set when he broke Ruud in the second game and saved four breaks in the third.
Ruud mustered a terrific comeback, breaking Berrettini in the ninth and never trailed in the tiebreak. — Reuters
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