"Nick is always one shot ahead like if he's playing chess"- Patrick Mouratoglou on Nick Kyrgios
French tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou recently analyzed Nick Kyrgios' game following his impressive win over World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, 7-6(11), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, in the fourth round of the US Open at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Patrick Mouratoglou is a professional tennis coach. Mouratoglou, a former coach of Serena Williams, is currently coaching former World No. 1 Simona Halep.
The 52-year-old took to Instagram to post a short clip of Kyrgios' match against Medvedev and critically analyze what makes the Aussie "so good." Appreciating Kyrgios' presence of mind and tactical awareness, the Frenchman pointed out how the Wimbledon 2022 finalist anticipated his opponent's shots "like if he's playing chess."
"Nick is always one shot ahead like if he's playing chess. He has time to look at his opponent anticipate his reaction and play with him," Mouratoglou said.
Mouratoglou stated that Kyrgios was aware of the Russian's late reaction to the Aussie's shot. He also added how Kyrgios made the best use of Medvedev's slow reaction to winning a point by deploying a clever drop shot.
"In this rally, Nick sees that Daniil is a bit late in recovering and that he needs to rush back to get there, so he steps in and takes the ball earlier and decides to play it behind him. We see Daniil is on his heels so he plays short, Daniil moves back ready to defend, then Nick decides to hit a drop shot, he said.
Mouratoglou continued by saying how Kyrgios was perfectly able to execute the shot and acknowledged the Aussie's tactical intelligence.
"Not only the execution is perfect thanks to his soft hands but also his tatctical intelligence is massive," he added.
Nick Kyrgios to face Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals
Nick Kyrgios displayed some of his best tennis as he whizzed past top seed Daniil Medvedev in his fourth-round match at the US Open. The Aussie tactically outsmarted the defending champion, winning 7-6(11), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
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Nick Kyrgios plays a fantastic match (+50 winners) to beat the world number #1 and defending champion Daniil Medvedev 7-6(11), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the QFs of the #USOpen for the first time.
4th career Grand Slam QF
Playing the best tennis of his life https://t.co/22ui1Waxlo
The 23rd seed fired 20 aces to book his place in the quarterfinals of the hardcourt Major in New York for the first time in his career, never having gotten past the third round in four attempts. Nick Kyrgios will now face Russia's Karen Khachanov to fight for a place in the last four of the Major and has become the favorite to lift his maiden Grand Slam title, according to betting websites.