Watch: Nick Kyrgios smashes his racquets in frustration, Karen Khachanov takes sarcastic dig at US Open crowd
Nick Kyrgios and Karen Khachanov played out a tightly-fought fourth-round contest at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday night, with the latter emerging victorious. The Russian won 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 6-7(3) 6-4 in three hours and 39 minutes to go through to the first Grand Slam semifinal of his career at the US Open.
Kyrgios, who has spoken of maturing and wanting to make the best of his talents over the last few weeks, had a meltdown following his defeat.
A meltdown from Nick Kyrgios after losing in the US Open quarterfinal! https://t.co/hUTaihlTBF
Having shaken hands with Khachanov and the chair umpire, Kyrgios smashed his racquet a number of times before it flew across the court. He then proceeded to take another racquet from his kit bag and repeat the process, much to the amusement of the packed stadium.
Kachanov, on the other hand, was left bemused by the lack of support from the crowd during the quarterfinals. During his post-match on-court interview, he let the fans know with a sarcastic "thank you."
"I did it [reached my maiden US Open semifinals]. I did it, guys. Thank you," Khachanov said, before adding, "Yeah, I mean now you're showing me some love. Thank you guys. Thank you. I appreciate it. I mean, I was expecting that it will be like this, you know."
Khachanov doing a Medvedev on the New York crowd.
He is not happy with how they were so pro-Kyrgios.
Karen Khachanov to face Casper Ruud in 2022 US Open semifinals
In the battle of big servers, Karen Khachanov emerged victorious against Nick Kyrgios in the early hours of Wednesday. The 26-year-old withstood 31 aces and a vocal crowd that was fully behind his opponent en route to a five-set win.
Big serving dominated the first two sets with short points being played, as the Australian came from a set down to level the proceedings. Having found himself two-sets-on-one down, Kyrgios again fought back, dominating the fourth-set tie-break to force a decider.
However, the Aussie dropped serve at the start of the fifth set and Karen Khachanov held firm all the way to the finish line. He converted four of his first six break point opportunities (4/8 for the match), while Kyrgios converted just two of nine break chances.
Khachanov has done it!
The No. 27 seed defeats Kyrgios in a tough five-setter. https://t.co/psE7pGG3bc
"I'm really proud of myself, I was focussed from the beginning to the end. It was a crazy match but I came ready to fight and to play five sets. I'm ready to run, to fight, to play [for] almost four hours and that's the only way to beat Nick [Kyrgios]," he said following the win.
The Russian, who fired 30 aces, will take on Norway’s Casper Ruud for a place in the US Open final.
Also Checkout:- US Open 2022 Results