Kyrgios unstoppable in US Open Tennis 2022 win over Medvedev, who will lose No. 1 Ranking

By Ricky Dimon

When Nick Kyrgios is at full flight–both mentally and physically–he can be unplayable at times. It may not even matter who is on the other side of the net. We saw it for six matches at Wimbledon, all week long in Washington, D.C. a few weeks later, and we are seeing it again at the U.S. Open.

Kyrgios took the racket out of Daniil Medvedev’s hands during an overpowering performance in which he prevailed 7-6(11), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday night. The Aussie’s fourth-round victory propelled him into a quarterfinal showdown against Karen Khachanov.

Count Khachanov among the opponents against whom Kyrgios has spontaneously combusted (Cincinnati 2019), but right now the 27-year-old is in no-nonsense form. With a couple of brief exceptions, he was all business against Medvedev and that allowed him to showcase his best tennis. Kyrgios fired 21 aces and finished with 15 more winners than errors while advancing after two hours and 53 minutes.

“I just thought I played the right way,” the No. 23 seed assessed. “I returned unbelievable today. “(I) just thought the third and fourth set were just so free. I was just having a lot of fun–embracing every moment out on Ashe today. (I’m) really proud of that.

“Obviously I felt like I disrupted his rhythm a little bit, didn’t let him kind of get comfy behind the baseline (and) play his style of tennis. I think that’s what you have to do. I was overall pretty happy with my performance.”

For Medvedev, his 2022 campaign will end with no Grand Slam titles. Monday’s loss means he is guaranteed to lose his No. 1 ranking when the tournament comes to a close, with either Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, or Casper Ruud ascending to the top spot.

“I’m disappointed,” the 26-year-old admitted. “(I’m) not going to cry in the room, but I’m a little bit disappointed. For a few days I’m going to be just a little bit sad…. Yeah, it was not the first thing on my mind after the match, saying, ‘Damn, (I) will not be the world No. 1 anymore.

“But that’s motivation (to) try to do better. Obviously it was the last slam of the year; didn’t do well enough; didn’t win in Australia when I had the chance; didn’t get the chance to play Wimbledon. Roland Garros, lost fourth round; here, fourth round.

“Yeah, (I) should do better–should get more points if I want to be world No. 1 again.”

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.