Kyrgios beats 2021 champ Medvedev, discusses mental state

Nick Kyrgios has eliminated defending U.S. Open champion and No. 1-ranked Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round

Nick Kyrgios sat in the Arthur Ashe Stadum locker room after ending Daniil Medvedev's U.S. Open title defense and stay at No. 1 in the rankings and felt a mix of pride and relief.

Pride at the big-serving, solid-returning performance that resulted in a 7-6 (11), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Medvedev on Sunday night, the latest in a series of career-altering results that carried Kyrgios to his first quarterfinal at Flushing Meadows on the heels of his run to his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon.

Pride, he said, at lifting himself out of “some really tough situations, mentally” and “some really scary places” off the court, which he first revealed in February. Pride, he went on, at succceding in distancing himself from ”feeling so depressed all the time, so feeling sorry for myself."

And relief, Kyrgios explained as he fiddled with the gray Boston Celtics cap he was wearing to his post-match news conference, at being able to come through when the lights are the brightest and stakes the highest, “because there’s just so much pressure every time I go out on court, so much expectation, so much unpredictability of what I can do.”

The 23rd-seeded Kyrgios, a 27-year-old from Australia, never had managed to make it past the third round of the U.S. Open until now, going 0-4 at that stage in the past. He also never has managed to parlay his unquestioned skill into the terrific play with any semblance of the consistency he is displaying lately.

“I’m just glad I’m finally able to show New York my talent,” Kyrgios said after delivering 21 aces and employing his typical go-for-broke style against Medvedev. “I haven’t had too many great trips here.”