Masters 1000 Montreal: Nick Kyrgios sublimates and offers Daniil Medvedev (6-7, 6-4, 6-2)

It’s no longer a secret in the world of men’s tennis: Nick Kyrgios is the scarecrow of the ATP circuit in 2022. During this second round of the Masters 1000 in Montreal, the recent Wimbledon finalist offered himself the scalp of Daniil Medvedev , defending champion and world number one, in 1h58 (6-7, 6-4, 6-2). A revenge victory for the Australian, defeated earlier in the calendar year by the Muscovite at the Australian Open. Thanks to this prestigious success, Kyrgios garners new points before the US Open and could well become the top seed at the New York tournament. In the next round, the 37th in the world will face Alex De Minaur, scorer of Grigor Dimitrov (7-6, 7-5).

Always bigger, always higher, always stronger. True to form, Nick Kyrgios swept the world number one. It is the second time he has achieved this performance in his career, eight years after defeating Rafael Nadal in the round of 16 at Wimbledon. And to tell the truth, this is no coincidence. Since his first Grand Slam final against Djokovic on grass this year, the Canberra native seems to have reached a mental milestone.

Medvedev had a moment of excitement, Kyrgios took advantage of it

Medvedev, deprived of Wimbledon this season, had to face the facts. Imperial on his serve throughout the game, Kyrgios never gave up his face-off. During a memorable first set, where the two tennis players feasted on their first ball (90% success for Kyrgios against 83 % for Medvedev), it was ultimately the Russian, colder in the decisive game and less prone to unforced errors (8 against 13), who took the first set in 48 minutes (7-6).

As a reaction, Kyrgios could have gone into a temper tantrum that he used to in the past. This was not the case, on the contrary. Thanks to a break obtained from the start of the second set, the bad boy held his rank against the last winner of the US Open. Better still: the colossus concluded the deal with authority to equalize in 1h26 (6-4). From then on, a standoff was set up for the third and final round.

After four first games, the debates became tense on Medvedev’s serve and Kyrgios broke his opponent, who became feverish on his serve. From then on, Medvedev felt the match slipping away from him and the game logically turned in favor of the underdog (6-2). At 27, Kyrgios may have just knocked on the door of the favorites to the final victory for the US Open. Just a year ago, it was hard to imagine such a scenario.