Odd pep talk from umpire spurs Kyrgios
An extraordinary mid-match pep talk from the chair umpire has helped fire Nick Kyrgios into a US Open third-round blockbuster with tennis superstar Roger Federer.
Swedish official Mohamed Lahyani is under fire for his unprecedented intervention, which appeared to spur the Australian player into pulling off a dramacharged 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-0 comeback win over Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert at Flushing Meadows in New York.
Kyrgios was trailing 3-0 in the second set, having thrown away the first on a wild second-serve doublefault, when Lahyani left his chair to beg him to start trying for the sake of the paying crowd and to avoid a sanction – again – for not giving his best effort.
‘‘I want to help you. I want to help you,’’ Lahyani said. ‘‘I’ve seen your matches, you’re great for tennis. Nick, I know this is not you.’’
Seeking some sort of physical treatment, Kyrgios responded to Lahyani: ‘‘OK. Just call the trainer to the court and I’ll try.’’
But when the trainer arrived and asked what Kyrgios needed treatment for, the Australian said: ‘‘I don’t know, check my wrist or something . . . Can you just stay out here for like two minutes?’’
The umpire’s controversial ‘‘coaching’’ was savaged on social media, with fans furious about his perceived bias towards Kyrgios and claiming it was unfair on Herbert.
Former leading Australian umpire and one-time head of Asada Richard Ings weighed in.
‘‘I am racking my brain to think of a situation requiring a chair umpire to speak like that to one player. I umpired thousands of matches. I was ATP head of officiating. I can’t think of one,’’ Ings tweeted.
The USTA, already under siege over a succession of rules blunders this grand slam, was also understood to be unimpressed with Lahyani’s conduct and investigating the incident. It certainly seemed to work for Kyrgios, who hauled himself back into the contest having looked utterly disinterested in the early stages.
Yawning one second, Kyrgios delivered a return winner the next to break Herbert to get back on serve at 4-5 in the second set before offering a subdued fist pump towards his box.
He clinched the tiebreaker to draw level and then break Herbert early in the third set to take command. Totally revitalised, Kyrgios dropped just three games in the final two sets, sealing victory after two hours and 47 minutes.
Federer advanced to the third round with a 7-5 6-4 6-4 victory over Frenchman Benoit Paire.
The win for the 20-times grand slam champion confirmed a weekend showstopper with Kyrgios.
Asked after the match what the umpire was saying to him when he trailed by a set and a break, Kyrgios said: ‘‘He was just concerned about how I was playing, like, ‘Nick are you OK?’’’
‘‘He [Herbert] let me back into that set. He should have just served it out. I stayed out here in the second set. I had no real choice.’’
Other winners included Angelique Kerber, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova and Madison among the women, while Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Marin Cilic reached the third round of the men’s singles. Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki was a notable casualty.