NEW YORK — Karen Khachanov stood on court, arms raised, basking in a rowdy crowd’s cheers after reaching his first Grand Slam semifinal at the U.S. Open. Not far away, Nick Kyrgios took out some of his frustration at the so-close-yet-so-far result on a pair of rackets.
First, shortly after the last point of his 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-4 loss to Khachanov, Kyrgios cracked his piece of equipment against the ground — once, twice, three, four times. Then, for good measure, Kyrgios grabbed yet another racket out of his bag, reared back and hit that one on the sideline, too.
Kyrgios could not quite follow up his victory over defending champion Daniil Medvedev at Flushing Meadows, bowing out in a high-quality, topsy-turvy quarterfinal that began Tuesday night and concluded more than 3 1/2 hours later at about 1 a.m. Wednesday in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Early in the match, two spectators were kicked out after one gave the other a haircut in the stands. By the end, the late-staying spectators were pulling for Kyrgios loudly. At one point in the fourth set, chair umpire James Keothavong pleaded: “Once again, ladies and gentlemen: Respect both the players.”
The No. 27-seeded Khachanov had been 0-2 in major quarterfinals before this one against No. 23 Kyrgios.
And he noticed who the fans seemed to favor.
“I did it! I did it, guys! Thank you. Now you’re giving me some love. I appreciate it,” Khachanov said. “It was a crazy match. I was expecting it would be like this. I’m ready to run, to fight. … That’s the only way to beat Nick, I think.”
Khachanov will face No. 5 Casper Ruud on Friday for a berth in the championship match.
“I’m really proud of myself,” Khachanov said. “I was really focused from the beginning to the end.”
Both he and Kyrgios are equipped with booming serves, and they combined for 61 aces (31 by Kyrgios). They combined for 138 total winners (75 by Kyrgios).
Two stats that were real difference-makers: Kyrgios made 58 unforced errors, Khachanov 31. And Khachanov saved 7 of 9 break points he faced.
Kyrgios was the runner-up at Wimbledon in July and became a popular pick to claim his first Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows after ending No. 1 Medvedev’s title defense in the fourth round.
Khachanov was not allowed to play at Wimbledon this year after the All England Club banned all players from his country, Russia, and Belarus because of the invasion of Ukraine.
Garcia, 28, tops Gauff, 18, at US Open for 1st Slam semi
NEW YORK (AP) — Caroline Garcia knows how it can feel to be a teen in tennis getting a ton of attention and outsized expectations, the way Coco Gauff does now.
One big difference: Garcia, now 28, became an overnight sensation more than a decade ago thanks to one particularly noteworthy performance on a big stage — and long before she achieved the sorts of things Gauff has at 18.
On Tuesday night at the U.S. Open, Garcia took charge and never really let Gauff — or the crowd — get fully involved. From the get-go, Garcia played high-stakes tennis and put strokes where she wanted, sometimes right at Gauff’s feet, sometimes well out of reach, and reached the first Grand Slam semifinal of her career with a 6-3, 6-4 victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“It kind of got away from me,” said the 12th-seeded Gauff, an American who reached the French Open final in June. “It was all her. … I was striking the ball really clean. You’re playing someone, off the bat, they’re standing on top of the baseline and ripping balls. It’s not easy. “
Garcia, who is from France, hasn’t ceded a set at Flushing Meadows so far this year and stretched her winning streak to 13 matches overall, solidifying her status as someone playing as well as anyone in women’s tennis at the moment.
“The path is very clear right now,” Garcia said. “Which direction I have to go, under stress, under pressure. I’m just trying to follow this path.”
Back in 2011, still just 17 and ranked 188th, playing in only her second tour-level event, Garcia led Maria Sharapova — who had won three of her five Grand Slam titles by then — 6-3, 4-1 in the second round at Roland Garros. Sharapova wound up taking the last 11 games to win, but Garcia was suddenly on the map.
Sharapova praised her as someone “on her way way up, definitely,” and Andy Murray wrote on Twitter that day: “Girl sharapova is playing is going to be No.1 in world one day caroline garcia, what a player u heard it here 1st.”
Asked recently about that, Garcia laughed and said she’s never talked to Murray about it.
“I was very surprised because, in the end, I still lost the match. But it was a funny moment. … I was pretty much nobody at the time. I’m not going to complain about it, but I was definitely not ready. More importantly, my game was not ready for it,” Garcia said. “I was not able to (play) the same, match after match or week after week. I was trying to manage the pressure that came from it.”