WHAT HAPPENED: Karen Khachanov is into the first major semifinal of his career, a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-4 winner over 23rd seed Nick Kyrgios of Australia on Tuesday night at the US Open.
Kyrgios, 27, came into the match all but the prohibitive favorite given his sizzling summer swing. He owned a tour-best 26 victories since the start of the grass-court campaign, highlighted by his first-ever major final at Wimbledon, his second Washington title, and not one but two wins over reigning world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in a matter of weeks.
The Canberran was seeking to become the first Australian man to reach the final four in Flushing Meadows since Lleyton Hewitt in 2005. But the 6-foot-6 Khachanov, appearing in the third Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career (2019 Roland Garros, 2021 Wimbledon), stood tall, improving to 2-1 against Kyrgios in career head-to-heads.
“I did it,” said Khachanov, who out-aced Kyrgios on the night, 31-30. “It was a crazy match. I was expecting it would be like this. I was ready to run, to fight, to play five sets. We played for almost four hours [3:39]. That’s the only way to beat Nick, I think.”
You just knew this one was going to be tight. Both of their previous matches had gone the distance, with six of the eight sets decided in a tiebreak. Their third-round tussle at the 2020 Australian Open, won by Kyrgios, was a four-hour, 26-minute marathon over five sets.
Kyrgios, who appeared to be favoring his left leg early on, served to stay in the opening set at 5-6, only to watch a Khachanov lob sail over his head and drop inside the baseline. It was the only break point of the otherwise clean-serving opening set, which featured nine aces from each player.
“I can’t walk,” Kyrgios informed the trainer during an on-court visit between sets.
Despite the complaint, Kyrgios would force a forehand error to break for 2-1 in the second set, the crowd doing their best to infuse the match with some energy. Serving at 5-4 to level the match, he made good on his third set point with a backhand crosscourt winner.
Kyrgios let off some steam in the third when, after letting a pair of break points slip away with his opponent serving at 4-all, he slammed his racquet to the court in frustration. Serving to stay in the set down 5-6, 15-40, he would dump a backhand into the net to fall behind two sets to one.
Kyrgios seemed to come alive in the fourth set tiebreak, their head-to-head once again going the distance. But it was the 2020 Olympic silver medalist Khachanov, 26, who would take control for good in the final set, consolidating a break for 2-0. He was at his very best when up against break points. He faced nine in all, saving all but two, seemingly always coming up with a big serve when it was needed most.
“I had some opportunities in the fourth set. He played an amazing tiebreak,” said Khachanov. “What can I do? I had to stay focused and try to win the next set. I’m really proud of myself. I was really focused from the beginning to the end, and I got the win.”
Kyrgios came into the match saying he would “live and die by the sword.” He did play an aggressive brand of tennis, occasionally serve-and volleying, but it was to no avail. Despite landing 115 of 160 first serves (71%) and a match-leading 75 winners, he came up short.
WHAT IT MEANS: Next up for Khachanov is a final-four showdown with 5th seed Casper Ruud, who earlier on Tuesday dispatched 13th seed Matteo Berrettini of Italy, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(4). Khachanov dropped his only career encounter with the Norwegian, a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 decision in the first round in Rome in 2020.
MATCH POINT: This is the fifth time in six years that a player seeded No. 20 or below is into the men's singles semifinals of the US Open.
