Top seed Daniil Medvedev beaten by Nick Kyrgios at US Open
Daniil Medvedev, the No. 9 seed at the US Open, made a strong start to his quest to reach the final at Indian Wells, but he had to overcome a big threat from fellow top seed Nick Kyrgios.
Medvedev had an abysmal day at the start, but he got his game back on track and pulled out a 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) win in just over two hours to advance to the final of the tournament.
Medvedev, who was the only player who could win the tournament in 2008, will have to fight for his place in Sunday’s final against Novak Djokovic.
Kyrgios, the 24-year-old Australian who is a three-time winner of the tournament, beat a rejuvenated Andy Murray in a four-hour, 14-minute match that took place Friday.
Murray, who stunned Djokovic in the final six months ago, defeated Medvedev in straight sets in their opening match Thursday.
“I don’t think I could have done much better after the break because I was too tired. It was the longest I’d played in the last couple of weeks,” Medvedev said. “Today was kind of similar. It took a while for the game to slow down, especially on his serve and forehand,” he added, referring in particular to Kyrgios’ forehand.
Kyrgios, who was second in the rankings heading into the tournament, beat Murray in last year’s final, but that didn’t stop him from coming back to beat Medvedev in the first set Thursday.
“It is an honor to play in front of such great people. It is what I love most and I hope to play my best here in this room because it is a very special place where people have played very big matches over the years,” Kyrgios said post-match.
“If I continue to play this way I will be in great shape for the final.”
Medvedev, a four-time victor at Indian Wells, was playing for his first Grand Slam final since losing