Angry Aussie

Karen Khachanov stood on court, arms raised, basking in a rowdy crowd’s cheers after reaching his first grand slam semifinal at the US Open in New York. Not far away, Nick

Kyrgios took out some of his frustration at the so-close-yet-sofar result on a pair of rackets.

First, shortly after the last point of his 7-5 4-6 7-5 6-7 (3) 6-4 loss to Khachanov, Kyrgios cracked his piece of equipment against the ground – once, twice, three, four times. Then, for good measure, Kyrgios grabbed yet another racket out of his bag, reared back and hit that one on the sideline, too.

Kyrgios could not quite follow up his victory over defending champion Daniil Medvedev at Flushing

Meadows, bowing out in a high-quality, topsy-turvy quarterfinal.

Early in the match, two spectators were kicked out after one gave the other a haircut in the stands. By the end, the latestaying spectators were pulling for Kyrgios loudly.

The No 27-seeded Khachanov had been 0-2 in major quarterfinals before this one against No 23 Kyrgios.

And he noticed who the fans seemed to favour.

‘‘I did it! I did it, guys! Thank you. Now you’re giving me some love. I appreciate it,’’ Khachanov said. ‘‘It was a crazy match. I was expecting it would be like this. I’m ready to run, to fight. That’s the only way to beat Nick.’’

Khachanov will face No 5 Casper Ruud on Saturday for a berth in the championship match.

‘‘I’m really proud of myself,’’ Khachanov said. ‘‘I was focused from the beginning to the end.’’

Both he and Kyrgios are equipped with booming serves, and they combined for 61 aces (31 by Kyrgios). They combined for 138 total winners (75 by Kyrgios).

Two stats that were real difference-makers: Kyrgios made 58 unforced errors, Khachanov 31. And Khachanov saved 7 of 9 break points he faced.

Kyrgios was the runner-up at Wimbledon in July and became a popular pick to claim his first grand slam title after ending

No 1 Medvedev’s title defence in the fourth round.

Khachanov was not allowed