Andy Murray handles Nick Kyrgios at U.S. Open
NEW YORK – On tennis’ biggest stage with one of the sport’s biggest stars Tuesday night, Nick Kyrgios was all antics and little impact against Andy Murray at the U.S. Open.
Here’s what happened.
Scoreline: [3] Andy Murray (GBR) def. Nick Kyrgios (AUS) 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
It was the most anticipated first round match at the U.S. Open and though it had its shining, Kyrgios-esque moments, the tennis was a touch and go affair. Murray won for the third time in three Grand Slam meetings (Australian, French and U.S. Opens) this year, dropping a set for the first time to the 20-year-old Australian.
What it means: It means that Murray moves on to round two to face Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, but it more means that Kyrgios, just over two weeks removed from his disparaging comments made on court about the personal life of fellow player Stan Wawrinka, is out of the U.S. Open.
Kyrgios was far from well-behaved on court, tossing his racket, hitting unneeded between-the-legs shots and at one point receiving a warning for verbal obscenity from chair umpire Carlos Ramos. The Australian has earned a reputation as a kid with a cause on the tennis court over the last couple of years, and at Wimbledon made headlines for remarks to chair umpires and his apparent tanking during a portion of his match against Richard Gasquet.
How it happened: It was a match of momentum swings and big cuts at the ball, particularly on Kyrgios’ side of the court. The world No. 37 – just the fifth player not to be seeded here – broke Murray for an early 2-1 lead and held a set point at 4-5 Murray serving. But the British No. 1 held there and then broke for the first set, widening his lead by taking set two, as well.
Kyrgios finally broke Murray (he was 3 of 14 in the match) after a handful of opportunities early in the third, then watched himself get broken back at love. At 4-5, however, Murray threw in a love game of his own, igniting the night crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium and sending the match to a fourth set.
But Kyrgios left the court for a bathroom break and with the exit lost his momentum. Murray would break in the first game of the fourth set and then never look back, Kyrgios earning that verbal obscenity warning at that point in the match and never quite looking like a contender thereafter.
Key stat: Murray would bomb 18 aces and was broken just three times, while Kyrgios, arguably the bigger server, dropped his own delivery game seven times in the match. Murray hit 46 winners (to 42 for Kyrgios) and made just 23 unforced errors to 39 for the Australian. An unwritten stat might include circus shots: Murray tried none of them and Kyrgios nearly a dozen during the match, perhaps only one or two deemed as successful.
What he said: "I expected a very tough match and that's what I got," Murray told reporters. "He just missed out on being seeded here. There are five or ten minute parts of the match where he has dips in concentration and that's where I took advantage."
“I thought I hung tough out there,” Kyrgios told reporters after the loss. His defense was unbelievable tonight. It is what it is.”
Murray said it's nearly impossible to ignore Kyrgios' show-maker tendencies.
"It's important for me to stay focused on my side of the net against him," Murray said. "Some of the stuff he does on court is funny. I laughed... smiled. That's funny when you're playing against it, but you need to concentrate on your side of the court as much as you can."
“I think I’m on the right path,” Kyrgios said of his learning from the Wawrinka comments. “I don’t think anyone in this room was perfect when they were 20. Speak up if you were.”
U.S. OPEN FIRST ROUND ACTION:
