Kyrgios explains his moment of craziness: “I honestly thought it was legal. I’m going to look like an idiot”
The Australian described himself as “bone-headed” for a bizarre moment in his otherwise brilliant performance against Daniil Medvedev at the US Open
Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic
You never know what to expect when Nick Kyrgios takes to the court but at the US Open, between the brilliance of most of his play during his four-set win over Daniil Medvedev in round four on Sunday night, there was still time for something even the Australian had never done before.
One set all, leading 1-0 in the third set and at 30-30 on the Medvedev serve, he fired a forehand pass down the line that a wrong-footed Medvedev could only volley up into the air, a shot that was clearly going to fall wide and on his own side of the net.
It was then that Kyrgios had his moment of craziness, racing around the net to Medvedev’s side and volleying the ball into the court. The commentators were not sure if it was legitimate but as Medvedev pointed to Kyrgios and the umpire, the point was given to the Russian because Kyrgios had hit the ball on the volley from the wrong side of the net.
It was a moment of craziness but Kyrgios gathered himself quickly and went on to win in four sets, knocking out the defending champion, dethroning him as world No 1 and putting himself three wins away from a first Grand Slam title, a continuation of his form after reaching his first final at Wimbledon this summer.
Afterwards, even Kyrgios admitted he’d been “bone-headed”.
“I’m still can’t believe the bone-headed play I made over here. I thought that was legal, to be honest. That’s going top be everywhere on (ESPN) Sports Center so I’m going to look like an idiot. But that’s alright.”
I thought it was legal. I was like, that’s the best shot ever. And it wasn’t legal. But it was fun.
Nick Kyrgios
Later, in an interview with ESPN, Kyrgios explained his decision-making a little more.
“I genuinely thought it was legal. I thought I was playing the concrete streets of my suburb in Canberra. That’s something I would do there. I realised that it wasn’t legal. You can see my face… I was so happy. I was like, ‘That’s the best shot ever’ and it wasn’t legal. But it was fun.”
Kyrgios laughed off his moment of madness and so he might. He’s playing great tennis, and no one has won more matches than him since the US Open. He’ll take on Karen Khachanov of Russia in the quarter-finals and will be favourite to advance to the last four.
“I played really well, I’ve been playing amazing the last couple of months,” he said. “And where better to do it than here.”
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