Kyrgios: It’s one of the greatest weeks
WASHINGTON: Shaking off back spasms to blast 18 aces, Australia’s Nick Kyrgios kept his composure and captured the ATP Washington Open title Sunday, defeating Russia’s 10th-ranked Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/4).
The 24-year-old Aussie, who struggled through the opening set, claimed the US$365,390 top prize and his sixth career ATP crown at the US Open tuneup event.
“This is probably my best memory of a final,” Kyrgios said. “I left it all on the court.”
Kyrgios, 5-1 this year against top-10 rivals, won his second title of the season after Acapulco in March and jumped 25 positions to 27th in yesterday’s new rankings, his first top-30 appearance in 43 weeks.
“This has been one of the greatest weeks of my life. I’ve made massive strides,” Kyrgios said. “This whole week has been amazing. It’s a week I won’t forget.
“In the past six months, it’s crazy to think how much I’ve been able to turn it around,” Kyrgios said. “I’m working hard to be better as a player and a person.”
In a match that featured no break points or deuces, Kyrgios won after 94 minutes with back-to-back aces.
Medvedev said: “I know how well Nick can play when he wants to play. This week, I think he wanted to play and it was tough.”
American Jessica Pegula captured her first WTA singles title by ripping Italy’s Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-2 in the women’s final.
The 25-year-old daughter of NFL Buffalo Bills owner and natural gas magnate Terry Pegula took a $43,000 top prize.
Pegula moved up 25 spots to a careerbest 54th yesterday.
“It’s extremely gratifying,” she said. “The journey makes it all that much sweeter because it’s hard. I really pushed myself this week. It’s amazing. I’m excited. Hopefully I can take the momentum and keep riding it.”
ZHENG SURPRISES SABALENKA Zheng Saisai knocked off her fourth seeded opponent of the week to capture her first career WTA title with a straight sets win over Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the San Jose tournament on Sunday.
The unseeded Zheng, who also beat Sabalenka in their only other career meeting, used a solid serving performance to beat the second seed from Belarus 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).
“I don’t have so much experience because it is the first time for me,” a nervous Zheng said on the court during her trophy presentation speech. “I am very excited about how I played the whole week.”