Coach Patrick Mouratoglou thinks Nick Kyrgios is “always one shot ahead” and his smart play is one of the biggest reasons his success this summer. On Sunday, Kyrgios sent defending US Open champion Daniil Medvedev packing from the tournament.
In front of a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium, Kyrgios ousted first-seeded Medvedev 7-6 (11) 3-6 6-3 6-2. After the match, Mouratoglou provided some analysis of Kyrgios’ play versus Medvedev. “Nick is always one shot ahead like if he’s playing chess.
He has time to look at his opponent anticipate his reaction and play with him,” Mouratoglou said. “In this rally, Nick sees that Daniil is a bit late in recovering and that he needs to rush back to get there, so he steps in and takes the ball earlier and decides to play it behind him.
We see Daniil is on his heels so he plays short, Daniil moves back ready to defend, then Nick decides to hit a drop shot. Not only the execution is perfect thanks to his soft hands but also his tactical intelligence is massive.”
Kyrgios beats Medvedev for the second time in a month
Kyrgios has been without any doubt playing the tennis of his life this summer.
After reaching his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon, Kyrgios continued his fine throughout the North American hard court swing. Last month in Montreal, Kyrgios recovered from a set down to beat Medvedev. Now, for the second time in a month, Kyrgios has defeated Medvedev.
With those two victories over Medvedev, Kyrgios added two more victories over a world No. 1 to his name. After beating Medvedev, Kyrgios underlined that his goal is to make it all the way at the US Open. In the US Open quarterfinal, Kyrgios plays Karen Khachanov. Kyrgios is in impressive form and he definitely seems like a man on a mission this fortnight.
