Kyrgios eliminates defending champion Medvedev at US Open

Nick Kyrgios has eliminated defending champion Daniil Medvedev from the US Open on the night from Sunday to Monday. After four sets — 7-6 (11), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 — the Australian had won his fourth of five head-to-head encounters with Russia’s Medvedev and was a quarter-finalist in the grand slam tournament for the first time in his life . For a place in the semifinals he has to deal with another Russian: Karen Chatsjanov, who also plays a quarterfinal of the US Open for the first time.

These are golden times for 27-year-old Kyrgios, who is having a strong season. In July he played his first Grand Slam final of his career at Wimbledon. Although he lost to Novak Djokovic, his performance gave him confidence. Afterwards he received compliments from Medvedev, who compared Kyrgios’ level with that of the big stars Rafael Nadal and Djokovic: “If he continues to play like this until the end of the tournament, he has a good chance of winning.”

Finally, Kyrgios seems to be redeeming the great future that has always been attributed to him. After dark years of depression and thoughts of suicide, he is now showing his tennis skills. “It only took me 27 years,” he joked afterwards. Due to the loss of Medvedev, there is a new number one in the world ranking at the end of the US Open. Who that will be depends on how the rest of the tournament goes.

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