NEW YORK (AP) — Nick Kyrgios could not quite follow up his victory over defending champion Daniil Medvedev at the U.S. Open and lost in the quarterfinals to Karen Khachanov 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-4 at a rowdy Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The match began Tuesday night and concluded at about 1 a.m. Wednesday. Early in the match, two spectators were kicked out after one gave the other a haircut in the stands.
By the end, the late-staying spectators were pulling for Kyrgios loudly. At one point in the fourth set, chair umpire James Keothavong pleaded: “Once again, ladies and gentlemen: Respect both the players.”
The No. 27-seeded Khachanov advanced to the first Grand Slam semifinal of his career. He had been 0-2 in major quarterfinals before this one against No. 23 Kyrgios.
“I did it! I did it, guys! Thank you. Now you're giving me some love. I appreciate it,” Khachanov told the spectators who remained until the finish. “It was a crazy match. I was expecting it would be like this. I'm ready to run, to fight. ... That’s the only way to beat Nick, I think.”
Khachanov will face No. 5 Casper Ruud on Friday for a berth in the championship match.
This quarterfinal was high-quality tennis over more than 3 1/2 hours.
Both Kyrgios and Khachanov are equipped with booming serves, and they combined for 61 aces (31 by Kyrgios). They combined for 138 total winners (75 by Kyrgios).
Two stats that were real difference-makers: Kyrgios made 58 unforced errors, Khachanov 31. And Khachanov saved 7 of 9 break points he faced.
Kyrgios was the runner-up at Wimbledon in July and became a popular pick to claim his first Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows after ending No. 1 Medvedev’s title defense in the fourth round.
Khachanov was not allowed to play at Wimbledon this year after the All England Club banned all players from his country, Russia, and Belarus because of the invasion of Ukraine.
Against Kyrgios, he picked up key breaks of serve in the last game of the first and third sets. After the opener, Kyrgios complained of knee pain and was visited by a trainer.
He did not appear to show any ill effects once play resumed, and broke early in the second.
Kyrgios had a chance to break at 4-all in the third, but couldn’t convert, flubbing a forehand, then spiked his racket. Two games later, he put a backhand into the net to drop that set, then sat in his changeover chair, dumped his racket and threw a drink, drawing a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct from Keothavong.
Khachanov came within two points of victory while ahead 6-5 as Kyrgios served in the fourth set. Kyrgios held on there and dominated the ensuing tiebreaker to force a fifth.
Then Khachanov broke to begin the last set and soon was up 3-1.
In Wednesday's quarterfinals, it'll be No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 11 Jannik Sinner, and No. 9 Andrey Rublev vs. No. 22 Frances Tiafoe.
None of the last eight men in the bracket has won a major title.
Ruud headed into the 2022 season with just one Grand Slam appearance that lasted as far as the fourth round anywhere and was determined to improve his record at the four most important events in tennis.
Then, a day before the Australian Open began in January, he twisted his ankle in practice and needed to withdraw. Hardly ideal. Just look at him now: Ruud is into the semifinals at the U.S. Open and has a shot at moving up to No. 1 in the ATP rankings, following a run to the final at the French Open.
The 23-year-old from Norway — who is coached by his father, former professional player Christian — parlayed what he called “a better start than I ever had before in a match” to a 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini on Monday.
“During Paris, something clicked, and I feel like I, this year, have sort of figured out the better way how to play five sets and knowing that it’s very different from playing best-of-three sets. ... Sometimes realizing, or knowing, that you can sort of let one set go every once in a while to save some energy for the rest of the sets,” Ruud said. “So I think I matured and learned how to play five sets better than I did last year.”
He improved to 12-2 in Grand Slam competition in 2022 after making just two unforced errors in the first set, 11 fewer than No. 13 Berrettini.
“Everything sort of went (in) my favor,” Ruud said. “I was hitting all the spots, all the shots that I needed to.”
Berrettini’s take: “After 20 minutes I was (down) 5-0. I don’t know how really. I don’t know what happened.”
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