Great serve, great forehands and there is no shortage of outrageous shots. There are few better shows on the ATP Tour than a free-hit matchup between Daniil Medvedev and Nick Kyrgios. After three years without a duel between the two at tour level, fans were treated to three installments of the Medvedev-Kyrgios rivalry in 2022.
While Medvedev scored an impressive victory at the Australian Open, it was Kyrgios who celebrated with a pair of close wins on North American hard courts, in Montreal and at the US Open. At the end of a year that saw Medvedev rise to World No.
1 for the first time and a rejuvenated Kyrgios achieved some of the best results of his career, ATPTour.com looks back on how one of the Tour’s highest-grossing rivalries played out. in 2022. Australian Open, 2R, Medvedev v.
Kyrgios 7-6(1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 The 2022 Grand Slam action was just four days old when Medvedev and Kyrgios collided in a heavyweight second-round crossover at the Australian Open. Through the first half of the match, it looked as though the second-seeded Medvedev was on course to claim his first win in three tries against the Australian.
High-quality return play from him helped him claim the first two sets at Rod Laver Arena, but Kyrgios woke up the home fans with some typically majestic shots en route to the third. “I thought the atmosphere was amazing,” Kyrgios said later.
“This is the sport. You have the most entertaining player playing in his Grand Slam home on Rod Laver. You would expect the crowd to be like that.” Those positive vibes couldn’t carry Kyrgios to a victory, however, as Medvedev clinically closed the door on the Australian by breaking twice in the fourth set to seal a win after two hours and 58 minutes.
“I came to win this match and I’m happy that I did it,” Medvedev said. “It was a fun match because we both served big. In the second and fourth sets I managed to return a little more in the crucial moments.”
Simon Jordan takes a shot at Kyrgios
English businessman and Talksport host Simon Jordan slammed Nick Kyrgios and called him a silly brat. “Nick Kyrgios is a remarkable mercurial talent, but doesn’t actually win very much.
He’s been to a Grand Slam quarter-final and a final, he’s 27, he hasn’t won a Slam, and there have been great Australian players in the past, Pat Cash, Pat Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt, who actually won things.
So while he has got this remarkable talent, I think they [Australia Tennis and media] disrespect him because he respects himself with the waste of his talent at times,” Jordan said.
