WHAT HAPPENED: What didn’t? This second-round match was like Nick Kyrgios in a microcosm.
Down one set and 2-5 in the second, Kyrgios appeared to be in the midst of a mild meltdown on a scorching afternoon. Out of nowhere, the Aussie suddenly turned it on and turned around the match. Kyrgios began rocketing aces instead of hitting 135mph second serves six feet out. He started to unleash a dizzying array of shots, instead of moping around the court, looking dazed and desultory.
The 30th seed roared back from a slow and quizzical start to defeat Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3, 6-0.
What the fans come to see at a Kyrgios match, in other words: The good, the bad and the curious.
In the first set, Kyrgios, down 4-5, promptly served three double faults, including a 129-mph second serve struck long to surrender the set.
On the changeover with Herbert leading 3-0 in the second set, umpire Mo Lahyani stepped down from his chair and could be seen talking to Kyrgios, who sat listening impassively. Some observers likened it to a pep talk. When asked after the match what Lahyani had said to him, Kyrgios said, “He was just concerned about how I was playing. He was like, ‘Nick, are you okay?’”
“I was like, yeah everything is actually fine, I just wasn’t feeling great,” Kyrgios continued.
In a statement after the match, US Open Tournament referee Brian Earley said, "Lahyani was concerned that Kyrgios might need medical attention."
"He also informed Kyrgios that if his seeming lack of interest in the match continued, that as the chair umpire, he would need to take action." Kyrgios recevied medical attention down 1-4.
For his part, Herbert said, "The umpire doesn't have to talk to him at all. I think this was not his job. I don't think he's a coach, he's an umpire and he should stay in his chair."
"I can just tell you from that point Nick was playing much better," Herbert continued.
It was a turning point, for sure. "He let me back into the second set,” Kyrgios said, presumably referring to Herbert. “He probably should have served the second set out.
"I kept staying out here, I had no other choice, really. I got pretty luck in the second set. My level raised a lot."
Kyrgios eked out the tiebreak to snatch the second set and momentum from the Frenchman, and then, newly engaged in the match, went on a tear.
With the heat rule in effect, both players retired to the locker room for a 10-minute break after the third set. When Kyrgios returned, he was a completely different player from the one who began the match. The Aussie spanked a 142-mph serve to go up 2-0 and swatted flat forehand winners, delighting the capacity crowd on Court 17.
Once Kyrgios’s serve started to click, he streaked to a 6-0 win in the final set. The Australian hit 14 aces and won 81% of his first-serve points on the match.
WHAT IT MEANS: Kyrgios now advances to play No. 2 Roger Federer in the third round. Kyrgios beat Federer the first time they played, at the ATP Masters Madrid in 2015, and has lost to the Swiss in two extremely tight matches since. Each of their three matches ended in third-set tiebreaks.
MATCH POINTS: Kyrgios has fallen from a career-high ranking of 13 in the world, in 2016, to his current No. 30. The Australian’s best performances at a major have been quarterfinals at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open, but at the US Open he has never been past the third round. To go deeper this year, he will have to get past the all-time Slam winner, Federer.
