NEW YORK—If today’s 11 a.m. match on Court 17 is any indication of how this U.S. Open is going to play out, we’re all in for a wild ride. Nick Kyrgios won it, upending No. 21 seed Mikhail Youzhny in three hours and three minutes on the strength of two superbly played tiebreakers, 7-5, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 7-6 (1).
It’s been a cool summer in New York, but the familiar, stifling heat of August has arrived just in time for the U.S. Open. Today, though, the most stifling element on Court 17 was Kyrgios’ big serve—the same serve that enables him to get out of trouble so often that he can grow a little cavalier when he has a lead.
Kyrgios had a break point in the very first game of the match, but the 32-year-old Youzhny held off the 19-year-old Wimbledon sensation in an eight-minute tug-of-war. Kyrgios fired his first ace on just his second first serve of the match, and another ace backed up by a service winner helped him close out a quick second game for 1-1.
The men then settled into a hold-hold pattern, and it was clear by the time we saw the next break point that this would be a struggle between a gifted, theatrical, explosive youngster and a veteran who knows every trick in the book. That next break point arrived with Youzhny serving at 5-all. An unreturnable serve got him out of that jam, but a double fault put him back into one.
In the ensuing rally, Youzhny tightened up and made a forehand error to give Kyrgios a 6-5 lead—with service. Kyrgios made the most of the chance, overcoming back-to-back double faults from 40-love to close out the set with a 116 M.P.H. kick serve that caught Youzhny off guard.
The second set began with a break for Kyrgios. Once again, a double fault following a successful break-point defense played a significant role in Youzhny’s demise. On his next break point, Kyrgios took a big cut at a second serve and drove a backhand winner down the line. He then fought off a couple of break points to consolidate with a hold. Moments later, it seemed, Kyrgios himself had break points for a double-break—representing a potential 4-1 lead—thanks largely to three consecutive double faults by Youzhny.
But Kyrgios, showing all the profligacy of a young man with a big weapon, let Youzhny off the hook. It almost cost him dearly, too, as Youzhny broke Kyrgios to put the set back on serve at 4-all.