Nick Kyrgios believes he had a golden opportunity to win his first Grand Slam title at the US Open and it was heartbreaking for him when he was knocked out after losing the quarterfinal clash against Karen Khachanov.
The Australian had bested the 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round and feels the draw had opened up for him. However, he could go past the Russian and lost the thrilling five-set contest.
Kyrgios had been in sublime form and had earlier made it to the Wimbledon final but could cross the final hurdle against Novak Djokovic. This was the first Major final for the controversial Australian.
“It was heartbreaking, obviously,” Kyrgios said in an interview with the official website of the Rakuten Japan Open.
“At the US Open, I had so much expectation after I beat Medvedev. The draw kind of opened up and I just didn’t take advantage of it.”
Kyrgios revealed that the loss motivated him to work even harder on his game.
“It kind of added a bit of fuel to me. I’ve been working hard ever since I lost to Khachanov. I went back home, had a couple of days off then got straight back out on the court,” Kyrgios added.
Meanwhile, Kyrgios will begin his Japan Open campaign against Tseng Chun-Hsin on Tuesday in the Round of 32.
“There are so many opportunities to have great weeks during the year. This is, in the scheme of things, quite a big tournament,” Kyrgios said on the same.
“I’m super excited to be here, that’s for sure. I had this circled on my calendar all year.”
On the other hand, Kyrgios also heaped praise on Yoshihito Nishioka, who recently made it to the final of the Korea Open but lost to Denis Shapovalov. The Japanese defeated Casper Ruud in the quarterfinal.
“He’s (Yoshihito Nishioka) going to be playing with a lot of confidence this week, obviously in front of his home crowd, as well. He’s going to be definitely a dangerous player for the rest of the season, that’s for sure. He’s more than capable of winning more tournaments,” Nick Kyrgios said.
“I grew up with Yoshi since we were about 14 years old. He was always really talented and I always knew he was going to be a very good player on the professional circuit,” he added.
Kyrgios has faced Yoshihito on four occasions and has won all four matches.
