Aussie tennis legend Wally Masur tells Nick Kyrgios to DROP his best mate Thanasi Kokkinakis and concentrate on singles only if he wants to reach Grand Slam glory
Australian tennis great Wally Masur believes Nick Kyrgios’ hopes of clinching an elusive maiden Grand Slam crown rest on him pulling out of his doubles duty.
The 27-year-old crashed out of the US Open in dramatic fashion on Tuesday, losing a five-set 7-5 4-6 7-5 6-7 6-4 thriller to Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals.
Kyrgios lost the match and his temper and was fined $20,700 by ATP officials after smashing two racquets at the end of the match in an epic meltdown even by his own standards.
Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis were knocked out in the third round at the US Open
The Australian berated his own box as he complained of a knee issue, which forced him to take a medical timeout.
‘I don’t want to play through this s**t,’ he told his support box.
Kyrgios may live to regret playing doubles in New York along his close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Ranked no8 in the world, the Australian duo lost in three sets to Britain’s Lloyd Glasspool and Finland’s Harri Heliovaara in the third round.
Kyrgios lost 7-5 4-6 7-5 6-7 6-4 to Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals of the US Open
Moments after his defeat, Kyrgios shook hand with Khachanov and smashed his racket up
It appeared a great tournament for Kyrgios to win, the draw having opened up for him
Masur suggested competing on two fronts may have cost Kyrgios’ chances of success, particularly given the short turnaround in between matches – their third round loss came 24 hours before Kyrgios’ quarter-final with Khachanov.
‘If the workload is too great and then you’re playing the better players in the second week, you can pay a price,’ he told Stan Sport.
‘He loves playing with Thanasi, they’re the Australian Open winners, he brings a lot of energy to the tournament, but there was eight extra sets of doubles.
‘I’m not saying that’s the reason for it, and I’m really pleased that he did play doubles, but it is very difficult for a top-flight singles player who can win a slam to play both events.’
Kyrgios had a medical timeout after the first set and was heard saying ‘I can’t walk’
Wally Masur believes Kyrgios should consider pulling out of doubles and focus on singles
After losing to Novak Djokovic in four sets in his maiden Grand Slam final appearance at Wimbledon in July, the Australian emerged as a potential dark horse to take the US Open title.
An already open field due to Djokovic’s absence due to his refusal to get vaccinated against Covid-19, became even more unpredictable after Rafael Nadal lost in the Round of 16 on Monday.
Playing what he described as the best tennis of his career, Kyrgios looked set for a deep run in New York after eliminating defending US Open champion and current world No1 Daniil Medvedev on Sunday.
And Kyrgios admitted being left ‘devastated’ after his hopes were dashed by Khachanov.
‘I honestly feel like s**t. I feel like I’ve let so many people down,’ he said.
‘[I] Just came out flat [and] physically didn’t feeling great. Then I ended up feeling great towards the end of the match.
‘I’m obviously devastated. But all credit to Karen. He’s a fighter. He’s a warrior.’
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