Kyrgios threatens to walk away if he wins Slam on Sunday
Aussie moves on to last eight but hints at quitting
N“I’ve got a lot of motivation at the moment”
ICK KYRGIOS is through to the last eight at the US Open, while simultaneously hinting that Serena Williams might not be the only retirement at this event.
There is the genuine prospect of the 27-year-old Australian winning the title on Sunday, having disposed of world No 1 and defending champion Daniil Medvedev with a superb display of controlled aggression.
Yet, as at Wimbledon, Kyrgios is also suggesting that, in the event of him lifting the trophy, he might struggle to find the ambition to carry on. ‘If I win a Grand Slam, I don’t know how much motivation I’d have afterwards because it’s extremely hard to do,’ he said after his four-set victory.
‘Three more matches potentially, then we never have to play tennis again.’
The latter comment was knowingly delivered with a smile. But should all this eventuate — which it probably will not — it would be a crying shame because Kyrgios is finally coming into bloom after years of erratic behaviour.
He has to be the favourite to reach the final from his half of the draw, which sees him now play 27th seed Karen Khachanov, with the victor then tackling either Matteo Berrettini or Casper Ruud.
The Kyrgios serve is again proving a formidable weapon. He leads the tournament ace table, by a considerable margin, on 85.
As ever the question is whether he can handle the pressure at the end of a road trip that has seen him away from home the whole summer.
‘I feel like I’m playing for a lot more than myself,’ he said. ‘I’ve got a lot of support and on the flipside I got a lot of people doubting me and trying to bring me down as well. I’ve been in some really tough situations mentally and really scary places.
‘We don’t get to see our family like other tennis players do the majority of time. I’m trying to make it worthwhile, trying to make it a memorable ride for all of us. Hopefully we can get it done, go back home and really celebrate.
‘I’m finally able to show it now, I feel like I’ve really been working. I’ve got a lot of motivation at the moment.’
Medvedev’s take was notable and ominous for future opponents of Kyrgios: ‘I’ve played Novak, Rafa, they play amazing. Nick tonight played their level, in my opinion. He has a bit of a different game because he’s not a grinder.’
Meanwhile, even an uncharacteristic surge of racket-throwing anger failed to turn round a performance that saw Cam Norrie turfed out last night.
The British No 1 enjoyed a brief upturn after his histrionics, but it was not enough to save him from a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 defeat by ninth seed Andrey Rublev and fail to make the quarter-finals. It was a flat and listless display from Norrie, a surprisingly poor ending to a summer which has seen him make almost uninterrupted progress.
He was given a code violation for showing his frustration shortly after getting broken to go 3-2 down in the third set.
‘I felt maybe the one time I did have a chance was when I ended up throwing my racket and getting a bit more energy and moving a lot better for the next 20 minutes,’ he reflected.
‘That was probably the best part of the match for me. Obviously it’s not ideal to be breaking rackets and doing that.
‘I very rarely do it, but I was able to kind of snap and change my energy and really lift afterwards.
‘It was good learning for me. I felt maybe a little bit too relaxed and too low on energy, I don’t know why. In the other matches I was very nervous and tight, but I felt like I used that and was a bit more electric and sharper and able to run for balls. Today, I felt I was just too chilled in between points.’
Norrie now moves on to team tennis, spearheading Britain’s effort to qualify for the Davis Cup finals, with the qualifying group in Glasgow next week.
The Laver Cup between Europe and The World follows in London.
Despite his top-10 ranking, Norrie was overlooked for selection in Europe’s six-man team.
However, he might yet get a late call-up amid reported doubts over certain players’ fitness, in particular Roger Federer, who is trying to make a comeback from knee surgery aged 41.