Unbreakable Nick Kyrgios thunders into Citi Open final after defeating Mikael Ymer | Sports
Nick Kyrgios is “super excited” after continuing his career-best season by reaching the final of the Citi Open in Washington.
Backing up from his grueling tournament load so far – the Australian maverick finished off Reilly Opelka in his round of 16 last Friday and then saved five match points in an epic quarter-final victory over Frances Tiafoe yesterday – Kyrgios calmly handled Sweden’s Mikael Ymer in straight sets to slump in another ruling.
Kyrgios produced another impressive serving display to beat 23-year-old Ymer 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in what was the Wimbledon number two’s fifth semi-final appearance from his last six contests. Only a stomach strain in Mallorca marred the impressive streak.
Yet to be broken all week in the US capital, Kyrgios did not face a solitary break point against Ymer, who had ousted former world number one Andy Murray in the first round. Ever the showman, Kyrgios took set point in the opener with his 80th ace of the tournament and sealed the set with a glorious serve volley and backhand winner.
The second set also proved to be a service duel but the Swede was always going to come second best to Kyrgios in this kind of mood as the Australian reeled off the last three games to win in one hour and 34 minutes.
Kyrgios had not made a final for three years but has now reached two in less than a month, including his breakout run to his first grand slam title match at Wimbledon. The four-set loss to Djokovic at the All England Club remains the 27-year-old’s only loss in his last 11 matches since mid-June.
“Honestly, I didn’t play anywhere near my best tennis today,” Kyrgios said after the match. “The last few matches I’ve been on paper, ranking-wise the underdog, but today I definitely felt like the favorite. I served pretty solid. Obviously, my win percentage after my first serve would have been high, but from the back of the court I didn’t play well at all.
“The difference was he’s on the fast and he makes you play the extra ball. He’s an incredible athlete and I really didn’t expect him to be that quick,” Kyrgios said of his rival. “Maybe next time I might have a couple of different tactics when I play him, maybe not to try to rally him, maybe get forward a bit more. But it was a tough semi-final. I’m just happy to be in another final.
Kyrgios hit just 10 aces against Ymer, compared to the 35 aces he sent down against Tiafoe in their quarter-final epic, but it was good enough for victory. “I didn’t fall asleep until 04.50. I had so much adrenaline,” grinned Kyrgios. “I had some dinner, got some treatment, my body was so sore after last night.
“It was an epic fight (against Tiafoe). I didn’t really do much today and I felt my energy was a bit flat early today,” shrugged the Canberra kid. “It’s understandable – I’m only human – but my adrenaline before the final will be there. I’m super excited about it.”
Had the ATP not stripped Wimbledon of ranking points in defiance of the All England Club’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players over the invasion of Ukraine, Kyrgios would have reclaimed his place in the world’s top 15. Instead, he remains at No. 63 and continues to make a mockery of men’s rankings, which ridiculously has Djokovic at world No. 6, the Serbian superstar’s lowest ranking in 15 years.
Kyrgio’s run in Washington guarantees the 27-year-old’s rise to at least No.42 in the world and he is expected to climb to No.37 if he wins a seventh professional title. And with major events coming up in Montreal and Cincinnati, Kyrgios is on course to secure an important seeding for the US Open, which begins on August 29 in New York.
The most recent of Kyrgio’s ATP titles came here in Washington in 2019 and he hopes to capture another when he plays either Russian top seed Andrey Rublev or Japanese left-hander Yoshihito Nishioka in what will be his 11th career final.