Khachanov next faces Casper Ruud, who might be the No. 1 player in the world when this is over. No, I don’t know anything about him, either.
“Now you’re giving me some love – thank you guys,” Khachanov tells the crowd. It’s difficult to tell if he’s being sarcastic.
“We played five sets, four hours – that’s the only way to beat Nick, I think.”
You think that’s tough? I just live-blogged for more than six hours. And I have to get up in six hours.
Thank you all for following along. Get some sleep.
Updated
Karen Khachanov defeats Nick Kyrgios 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-7, 6-4
You can hear the strain in their voices as they hit, as if they’re doing a burnout set of arm curls at the gym.
Kyrgios wins a 20-shot rally to make it 15-all. Khachanov takes the next. 30-15, two points away.
Kyrgios tries to pounce on a second serve but can’t quite get the winner, and Khachanov plays a drop shot that almost lands on the net cord before falling over. Double match point.
Boom. Kyrgios can’t return. It’s over.
Kyrgios is all sportsmanship as he greets Khachanov at the net. Then a racket meets its demise.
Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 7-6 4-5 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
“Seems like the quality’s getting better,” says John McEnroe. In this game, Kyrgios’ quality is just fine. His serve is nigh-unreturnable.
But he needs a break. And he needs it now. Khachanov is serving for the match.
*Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 7-6 3-5 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
Second-serve wizardry from Khachanov makes it 15-0, and he adapts to a shot that hits the net cord to dink the ball back over for 30-0.
Kyrgios drives Khachanov back well beyond the baseline and elicits a shot that’s high and wide, like my penalty kicks.
Khachanov winner on a 19-shot rally. 40-15.
I think the entire first set took less time than the Khachanov shot from well beyond the baseline. It lands just beyond the far baseline. 40-30.
Khachanov misses his sixth first serve of the game. Doesn’t matter. Hold.
Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 7-6 3-4 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
Kyrgios digs himself an 0-30 hole, than responds with his 30th ace. Khachanov also has 30.
Then Kyrgios hits long in a short rally. Two break points, and he’s arguing with ghosts.
Fault. Uh oh.
So how about a second-serve ace? No problem. 30-40.
Then a second-serve changeup that disrupts Khachanov’s timing. Deuce.
Khachnov hits a wayward shot. Ad-Kyrgios.
Another artistic second serve, and then a daring drop shot that leave Khachnov stuck on the baseline. Hold.
*Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 7-6 2-4 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
Some sweet shot-making and a 40-30 score, but Khachanov again closes it out.
Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 7-6 2-3 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
I’ll never understand how tennis players can play for three hours and still uncork shots in the 130-mph range. But Kyrgios does just that for a routine hold.
*Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 7-6 1-3 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
At 30-0, Khachanov approaches the net. Kyrgios hits one close to his should. Khachanov ducks, thinking it’s going to go out. It doesn’t. 30-15.
Then 30-30.
Then 30-40. A rare sign of emotion from Khachanov. Can Kyrgios break back?
Fault.
Good return, short rally, drop shot from Kyrgios … drops on his side of the net. Kyrgios yells at his team again. Do those guys get paid to listen to him vent?
Khachanov gets another point, but Kyrgios forces another deuce on a magical winner down the line that almost curves around him like a free kick in soccer.
Khachanov gets advantage again.
And then … can you guess?
Ace. And Khachanov yells and pumps his fist.
Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 7-6 1-2 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
30-0 after some brief rallies. Service winner. Unforced error. Ace.
Kyrgios has 28 aces and 64 winners. Khachanov has 27 aces and 54 winners. The difference is still unforced errors: Kyrgios 53, Khachanov 29.
*Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 7-6 0-2 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
ESPN pulls up a cool stat called “return winners” after Kyrgios hits his fourth, a cross-court forehand hit as casually as someone swatting away gnats.
Kyrgios gets to 30-all but clanks a shot into the net to make it 30-40. But he outlasts Khachanov in a 20-shot rally – which has been unusual in this match – and calmly watches a shot land just past the baseline. Deuce.
Double fault. Oh boy.
Ace. Kyrgios applauds.
Bad return from Kyrgios. Then an ace.
Not sure who Kyrgios is talking to, but he just stated the obvious: “The fifth set’s started. You know that?”
Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 7-6 0-1 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
At 15-0, Kyrgios gets his between-the-legs forehand to work, but loses the point.
Kyrgios continues to play with his cavalier panache, and it costs him again. 15-30.
They trade points, and Khachanov has a break. That rally goes on for a while, and Kyrgios hits into the net. Break.
Nick Kyrgios wins fourth set 7-6
Khachanov serves. Ace. 6-2 Kyrgios.
Khachanov serves. Long rally, with Khachanov going for power with each shot while Kyrgios returns with an assortment of shots. Kyrgios finally hits long, semi-intentionally, to put it back on his racket. 6-3.
Kyrgios serves. Bam. “Forehand forced error,” the statkeepers say. 7-3. I’m going back to the fridge.
Khachanov serves, and this time Kyrgios hits just long. 3-1
Khachanov serves. Ground stroke, ground stroke, ground stroke, BAM – it’s a hard-driven cross-court backhand from Kyrgios, and Khachanov hits wide. 4-1
Kyrgios serves, and Khachanov can’t get it back.
Kyrgios serves. Ace. Quintuple set point.
Khachanov serves. Fault. Then a pretty good rally in which Kyrgios remains calm and Khachanov does not, spraying an overly exuberant shot wide. 1-0 Kyrgios on the minibreak.
Kyrgios serves. You know how you can make a serve-and-volley work? Serve so well that you have the entire court and plenty of time to put away the volley. 2-0 Kyrgios.
Kyrgios serves. The whole crowd thought it was over. It hit the baseline at Kyrgios’ feet. It was apparently still in. Several more shots, bringing us to 25th, but Kyrgios has the last and best of those shots right down the line. 3-0 Kyrgios.
Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 6-6 Khachanov (going to tiebreaker)
Two easy points, then a rally in which Khachanov drives Kyrgios back with a lob and hangs on to win the point.
Double fault. 30-30.
Ace. 130 mph. 40-30.
Unreturnable serve. Off to the tiebreaker.
*Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 5-6 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
Kyrgios’ focus appears to be elsewhere as he heads to another service game with the score at 5-6. He lost the last two. Do it again, and he’s out.
Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 5-5 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
A perfectly angled ace takes Kyrgios to 40-0. Khachanov conjures a terrific return on Kyrgios’ second serve to get to 40-15, but the next serve is out of his reach.
*Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 4-5 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
At 15-15, we get some unwanted crowd noise that brings us to a temporary halt. The crowd is further energized when Kyrgios gets break point, but Khachanov cranks up the power to take the next three to hold.
The umpire has asked a couple of times for the crowd to “respect both players.” Does that strike anyone else as a bit of a reminder to Khachanov that the crowd favors Kyrgios?
Kyrgios now serving to prolong this match.
Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 4-4 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
At 15-15, we get some unwanted crowd noise that brings us to a temporary halt. Kyrgios seems to gain a bit of energy from it and clinches the next point with a loud grunt and powerful shot. He drops the next but reacts nicely to a shot off the net cord to smash his way to 40-30.
Guess what’s next? If you said “ace,” you’re right.
Vincent in Miami writes: “I get your point but oftentimes tiebreakers serve great tennis. I like them.”
I suppose the fact that they’re a pain to live-blog might be skewing my opinion here.
*Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 3-4 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
Unforced error for Khachanov, and then it’s a routine run of four points to hold.
Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 3-3 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
Kyrgios fights his way through a long rally that ends with Khachanov hits long. He returns the favor on the next point.
Then the serve-and-volley doesn’t work, and it’s 15-30.
Then the serve-and-volley doesn’t work, and it’s 15-40.
Double break point. Double fault. Yikes.
*Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 3-2 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
What was I saying about Khachanov not making any mistakes? He makes a couple in this game, and it’s 15-30. Then a double fault. Two break points.
Khachanov impetuously hits long. Break.
Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 2-2 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
Winner, winner, ace, ace. Kyrgios’ service games are routine … until they’re not, at 5-6 of the first and third sets.
*Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 1-2 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
Khachanov just isn’t making mistakes. Just 18 unforced errors to Kyrgios’ 41. Just one double fault. If you want to be picky, he has only landed 58% of his first serves. But he has won 71% of the points on his second serve, so it hardly matters.
He holds at love.
Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 1-1 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
Kyrgios walks up to the line to serve, looks across and sees no opponent. It’s not that Khachanov was milking the changeover. Kyrgios just wanted to get going that quickly.
Khachanov takes one point off Kyrgios’ serve, but it’s a routine hold.
*Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-7 0-1 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
Not sure Body Armor wants this sort of publicity. Kyrgios goes back to his seat and takes a sip of water. Then he picks up a bottle of Body Armor and smashes it. Another bottle of unidentified liquid goes smash as well. The ball kids bring out towels, and Kyrgios gets a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Khachanov is simply in control in all senses, and he holds at love.
Updated
Karen Khachanov wins third set 7-5
Oh dear. An unforced error from Kyrgios makes it 0-30. Another makes it 15-40, and Kyrgios is speaking angrily again. A long rally follows, and Khachanov has been winning most of those. He does so again.
Kyrgios seemed to be better through so much of that set. Now he’s down 2-1.
*Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-6 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
Again, I want some of that cream the trainer put on Kyrgios’ leg. He races one way and hits it the other to make it 15-15. He faces a second serve on the next point and hops several feet up before Khachanov swings.
They are slugging it out now. The rallies are getting long. Khachanov is getting noisier, with a martial arts-movie style “Hynnuuhhhn!” with most of his shots. Or maybe “Hiyhhn!”
A Khachanov error makes it 40-30, and a chant of “Here we go, Nicky” breaks out. There’s more crowd noise as Khachanov is ready to toss the ball for his next serve, and the umpire asks for quiet. He gets it, more or less, and Khachanov closes out the game.
So we’ll either have a tiebreaker or a 2-1 Khachanov lead.
Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 5-5 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
During the changeover, Kyrgios slapped a camera. Not a cameraman. A camera.
And his bad mood extends into the first two points, where he’s just not as sharp as he has been. He takes the next, but his serve-and-volley attempt on the next is just weak. Two set points.
Kyrgios then opens the door wide, hanging a drop shot where Khachanov can slam it. And he does. Maybe 10 feet wide. Inexplicably.
Ace. Deuce.
Ace – oh, excuse me, “backhand forced error.” Ad-Kyrgios.
Another “forced error.” Kyrgios has held.
*Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 4-5 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
Well now. Kyrgios mixes in a couple of offbeat shots at 15-15, and he’s up 15-30. Then a booming winner gets the crowd to its feet. For the first time tonight, Kyrgios engages, waving his racket for more noise. The umpire has to quiet the crowd before we get to the two break points.
The first doesn’t last long. Ace. Nice response by Khachanov.
Kyrgios returns well on the next one, but after a brief exchange, he hits long. Racket goes smash.
At deuce, Kyrgios plays an exceptional rally, threatening with every shot. Somehow, Khachanov stays in it, and Kyrgios hits into the net. Khachanov holds with an ace, and Kyrgios stomps his way into the changeover, furious with himself for missing that chance.
Mad Nick is in the house.
Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 4-4 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
I have a proposal, so hear me out: No tiebreakers in the first four sets. If a set ends 6-6, it’s tied. A match would be the first to 2 1/2 sets rather than the first to three sets.
Sample: Dure wins first set. Lutz wins second set. Third set is tied. Then I win the fourth. That’s 2 1/2 sets. I win.
Anyway, Kyrgios hits a service winner, forces an error, then hits two aces. That was probably less than a minute.
*Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 3-4 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
Can I get some of whatever the trainer put on Kyrgios’ leg? He’s moving pretty well now, and we have a couple of decent rallies. Then Khachanov hits a couple of aces to hold.
Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 3-3 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
A double fault displeases Kyrgios, but he comes right back with one serve Khachanov barely touches and another that he can’t. A second straight ace completes the hold.
*Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 2-3 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
At 15-all, Kyrgios makes Khachanov do his impression of the Energizer buddy, or possibly the last ship in a game of Space Invaders. Khachanov manages to win that one, then the next, then the next, and we’re still on serve.
Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 2-2 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
Nick Kyrgios is good at serving.
*Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 1-2 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
At 30-0, Kyrgios yells at somebody about something. First time we’ve really seen that tonight. Khachanov then fires off an ace and another booming serve to hold at love.
Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 1-1 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
Kyrgios holds at love. Piece of cake. Can anyone bring me some cake? I’m about to have a sugar crash.
I neglected to mention this a few games ago.
He’s really getting a haircut during the Kyrgios match 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/RFsTuPpPF9
— Pickswise (@Pickswise) September 7, 2022
*Kyrgios 5-7 6-4 0-1 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
Break point for Kyrgios after some strong shots. Khachanov responds with an ace. Another great backhand from Kyrgios. Another great Khachanov serve.
We’re finally slowing down. A few rallies. Some games going to deuce. This one goes there for the third time, but Khachanov uncorks a couple of booming serves to hold.
C Meredith notes my last comment about writing for British and Australian people: “So I’m writing to let you know that I am a Yank following your commentary and I can’t be the only one! I love all The Guardian’s tennis commentary and really miss it on the evenings that it’s unavailable. Keep up the fantastic work!”
Quick personal note: I was working at USA Today when I started to notice The Guardian’s live coverage. I “borrowed” the idea and the tone for our coverage. It’s fun to come full circle and be here at The Guardian. It’s almost as if Weird Al got a chance to play with Madonna.
Nick Kyrgios wins the second set 6-4
Kyrgios just makes the absurd look simple. He serves and volleys, with the volley being a shot that travels in a tiny arc over the net and lightly falls to the court.
But he also makes the simple look absurd. He tries the same shot again and misses. An unforced error takes us to deuce. A booming serve gives him another set point. Another booming serve gives him the set.
One set apiece. Total time of 1:16. Gauff and Garcia needed 1:37, and they played three fewer games.
Updated
*Kyrgios 5-7 5-4 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
An ace gets Khachanov to 30-15. A shot that everyone except Hawk-Eye believes it out gets it to 40-15. Kyrgios hits the next return a bit wildly, content to try to serve out the set.
Kyrgios 5-7 5-3 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
The ball is in play a surprising amount on the first two points, ending in one unforced error each way. Kyrgios then paints the sideline with a second serve that Khachanov can’t return cleanly. A double fault makes it 30-30, but Khachanov can barely touch the next serve. Then Kyrgios simply overpowers Khachanov on the next rally to hold.
*Kyrgios 5-7 4-3 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
Down 0-40, Kyrgios decides to play a through-the-legs shot just for fun. The next shot is a winner. Even when he’s not particularly excited or agitated, Kyrgios is a showman. Khachanov then closes out the game.
Stat: Kyrgios has 14 aces and 29 winners. He also has 19 unforced errors to Khachanov’s five. In Kyrgio's defense, there haven’t been many points in which Khachanov could hit an unforced error.
Kyrgios 5-7 4-2 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
Boom boom boom boom (harmonica riff). Two aces, two errors forced. Who needs to be able to move when you can serve like this?
*Kyrgios 5-7 3-2 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
Nice backhand winner for Kyrgios, but then it’s two aces and two more shots Kyrgios can’t return.
Carmine Branagan tells me by email that my commentary is a million times better than what (name of major US news organization not ESPN) delivers. Yeah, but I’m writing for a bunch of British people and Australians, so I have to be … what’s the word? Urbane? No, that’s not it. I’ll think about it …
Kyrgios 5-7 3-1 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
Brief rally. Ace. Serve-and-volley winner. 40-0.
But then it’s two unforced errors on his backhand, the second one on a serve-and-volley attempt that he dinks into the net.
The next serve sends Khachanov far wide, but Kyrgios can’t put it away. Khachanov lobs. Kyrgios runs back to try the through-the-legs shot but finds the net. Deuce.
Kyrgios draws Khachanov to the net with a drop shot, then hits a medium-speed lob that floats right over Khachanov and drops neatly in. Khachanov follows with an unforced error, and Kyrgios holds.
*Kyrgios 5-7 2-1 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
Kyrgios sets himself up for a good smash on the first point. Khachanov takes the next two but then double faults. 30-30.
Khachanov drives one to the baseline and approaches the net. Kyrgios neatly drops it right at the net, and Khachanov unwisely hits it without letting it bounce. Break point!
Long rally. And still going. By the standard of this match, this is an absolute epic. Kyrgios has the better of it, barely needing to move on his injured leg, and he finally gets Khachanov to falter. Kyrgios has his break. He still looks like he’s reporting to a dull office job.
Kyrgios 5-7 1-1 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
And yet, Kyrgios still has that serve. Ace. Winner, set up by a big serve.
But then he misses a shot and has an uncomfortable chat with his entourage about missing more backhands tonight than he has all season. “I don’t want to (bleep)ing play through this (bleep),” he says.
He dutifully walks back to serve.
Ace. Winner, set up by a big serve.
*Kyrgios 5-7 0-1 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
The Kyrgios box is pleased with their guy’s performance in the third point of the game, a medium-length rally that sees him cut the lead to 30-15. He hits just wide on the next point, then hits into the net in the next.
This just doesn’t look good.
Kyrgios is grimacing now. He stands and strides into position, dabbing at his head with a towel.
The ESPN commentators are shouting at each other about whether yesterday’s double match is playing a role in Kyrgios’ flat performance thus far. But they agree that it’s flat.
Kyrgios has confirmed what we all feared. His left leg is in bad shape. He says he can’t walk – an exaggeration, sure, but not a good thing to hear. A trainer comes out and rubs a copious amount of cream on the calf, just under the knee. This is going on a while.
And this explains why Kyrgios just doesn’t have the energy he’s had in the past couple of matches.
Will he continue?
Karen Khachanov wins first set 7-5
Robert Speed writes: “In the boxing parlance, styles make fights. This is not a good match-up from that perspective. A bit same same.”
Yeah, it’s a bit like two guys taking turns on a punching bag.
Kyrgios opens with, wait for it, an ace. He follows with two indifferent points, then hits another ace. His next serve is somehow returned, but Kyrgios easily drives it for the winner.
But then it’s a couple of errors. A double fault gives Khachanov set point. Kyrgios comes to the net on the next point, and Khachanov coolly lobs to the far corner.
Just like that, after a set in which the word “deuce” had not been uttered, we have a break, and Kyrgios is down a set. What’s strange is that he doesn’t seem angry. He doesn’t seem dejected. This is just … happening.
*Kyrgios 5-6 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
Khahanov must be wishing we were playing poker here, because he just picked up four aces. Kyrgios didn’t exert himself too much chasing them, though.
Kyrgios 5-5 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
Ace on your second serve? Yeah, sure, why not.
*Kyrgios 4-5 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
Kyrgios hits a powerful crosscourt forehand winner on one return to pick up a point. The rest is Khachanov’s.
Each player has won a total of four points on his opponents’ serve, according to the US Open stats feed.
Kyrgios 4-4 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
Smash, service winner, ace, unforced error, ace. These guys are playing like they know I have to wake up early tomorrow.
*Kyrgios 3-4 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
A 15-shot rally ends with Kyrgios hitting long, and now he really is flexing that calf muscle. He played a two-hour doubles match yesterday, so this might be something to watch.
Two aces and another devastating serve give Khachanov the game.
If it seems like I’m writing much shorter updates in this match than I was in the Gauff-Garcia match, it’s because these games are flying by. We’re 18 minutes in, and we’ve already finished seven games.
Kyrgios 3-3 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
It seems Kyrgios is giving himself a little calf massage to loosen up, but two winners and two aces should ease any concern that anything’s bothering him.
*Kyrgios 2-3 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
Kyrgios requests a review of a Hawk-Eye line call, which I did not know was a thing. The powers that be duly show the shot, and it didn’t even touch the baseline, landing a few inches in. Kyrgios puts up his hands and nods, accepting the verdict. He hits one winner in the game, but Khachanov hits three, and Kyrgios ends it with a half-hearted backhand that hits the net.
It’s early, but I’m not really seeing Kyrgios’ best right now.
Kyrgios 2-2 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
Khachanov gets a good look at Kyrgios’ second serve, but he makes an unforced error into the net a shot or two later. Kyrgios follows with an ace, but two unforced errors in the next three points make it 40-30. No problem on the next point, though.
We have our first celebrity sighting of the night, not counting sports journalists. It’s Trevor Noah, author and host of The Daily Show.
*Kyrgios 1-2 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
Down 40-0, Kyrgios picks up a point (or 15, if that’s how it works in the delightfully quirky – or archaic, depending on your point of view – world of tennis scoring) with a confident forehand return down the line. That’s his only point, though. Through 13 points, the servers have won 11.
Kyrgios 1-1 Khachanov* (* – denotes next server)
Khachanov rips an easy winner off a hanging Kyrgios drop shot, but that’s a mere hiccup. Two aces, two strong points, and we’re level.
*Kyrgios 0-1 Khachanov (* – denotes next server)
Winner, ace, Kyrgios error, ace. That was easy.
“Live and die by the sword,” Kyrgios tells Patrick McEnroe before taking the court.
Kyrgios gets a nice reaction when he comes in – not the same as we’ve seen for the typical American and certainly not Serena-level, but still pretty good. An intro video features Kyrgios talking about his past disappointments in New York, contrasted with wins at Arthur Ashe Stadium this year.
New York loves the larger-than-life figures and doesn’t mind of bit of controversy. No matter what Kyrgios does here tonight, he may be a crowd favorite for years to come.
“It’s like crazy energy and my head is just buzzing,” Garcia says.
Stat pops up: Garcia is a two-time French Open doubles champion. Good for her, and that explains a bit of her ingenuity at the net, but this hardcourt power is at another level.
US Open tradition calls for the winner to sign a few balls and launch them into the crowd. The way Garcia hit the ball tonight, I think I’d duck.
Gauff will be a little disappointed. Too many errors. Too long to adjust to Garcia ripping shots onto the baseline.
But make no mistake – Garcia was nearly unbeatable tonight. If she plays like that again, someone in 2015 might need to put Serena Williams in a time machine to stop her.
With that, I’ll take a bit of a break until Nick Kyrgios and Karen Khachanov arrive. Happy fridge break.
Caroline Garcia beats Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-4
The empty seats in Arthur Ashe Stadium appear to be filled at last, and the crowd roars as the players return to the court from the changeover. There’s also a cheer or two after Garcia misses her first serve – again, not the most sporting of moves. Garcia wins that point but misses her first serve again and hits wide in the rally.
Ace. My, that was hard. 30-15.
But another miss – a shot that sails so far past the baseline that Gauff barely needs to pay attention.
Gauff’s next return is scintillating. Her shot after that is an unforced error. Match point.
Gauff hits into the net. Garcia is in a semifinal at a major for the first time.
Gauff 3-6 4-5 Garcia* (* – denotes next server)
Telling stat here before this game: Gauff is 3-for-12 on her second serve. Five of those points have been double faults, but Garcia has teed off on the rest.
Make it six double faults and 3-for-13 on second serves. That’s not a lot of second serves over the course of a match, but this has to put some pressure on Gauff’s first serve.
And she does indeed give Garcia another second serve, and despite a beautiful smash and another two solid points, Gauff is at deuce, two points away from exiting the tournament.
Gauff wins the next rally, then digs herself out of trouble in the next, firing a shot that handcuffs Garcia at the net. For once, Garcia’s volley is less than perfect. In fact, it’s out of play. Gauff holds.
Get a break, get back in the match.
*Gauff 3-6 3-5 Garcia (* – denotes next server)
Double fault for Garcia. Another fault, then a backhand crosscourt error. 0-30. Can Gauff do this?
Not based on the next point, which ends with yet another scorching forehand winner for Garcia. She follows with an ace, then a forehand that Gauff can’t cleanly return. Then another ace. This is almost unfair.
Gauff 3-6 3-4 Garcia* (* – denotes next server)
A pinpoint backhand winner gets Gauff to 30-15, and her next serve elicits a wide return from Garcia.
Gauff faults on her next serve, and Garcia again moves far inside the baseline. The ball pops up, and Garcia powers it crosscourt.
But Gauff effectively finishes the game with a good serve and volley. Not over yet.
*Gauff 3-6 2-4 Garcia (* – denotes next server)
News flash: Gauff can also hit with power. Garcia hangs out on the baseline and pays for it in a game-opening rally that Gauff dominates and finishes well.
But for a top-ranked doubles player, Gauff isn’t showing much at the net. In fairness, Garcia’s return is dropped onto Gauff’s feet as the American tries to storm forward, and Gauff can’t get the ball back over the net.
Gauff’s next net approach, though, is well-timed and well-finished. After driving Garcia deep into the corner, Gauff comes up and is rewarded with an easy smash attempt that she duly dispatches with aplomb. Break point.
Garcia gets to deuce with her next serve, then sends her next one so hard that Gauff can only shank her return into the photographers’ pit. Maybe we’ll get a photo of a ball coming straight at a camera.
Game point for Garcia, and Gauff defends admirably, even when Garcia gets to the net. After scrambling all over the court, Gauff takes a shot down the line but hits it just long. That may have been Gauff’s best chance.
Gauff 3-6 2-3 Garcia* (* – denotes next server)
Gauff drops the first point and misses her next serve. Garcia moves several feet inside the baseline to await Gauff’s second serve, and she slams it right back. Gauff returns it, but by then, Garcia is at the net ready to smash. That’s this match in a nutshell.
But Garcia gives away two break points with unforced errors. Gauff hits a service winner, then drops one where Garcia has a difficult play that she can’t make. Good hold for Gauff. Can she get another break and get back in this?
*Gauff 3-6 1-3 Garcia (* – denotes next server)
Chris Evert, Patrick McEnroe and Pam Shriver are a bit perturbed by fans who are still arriving. Even though they can only take their seats at certain times, there’s still a disruptive level of background noise. Garcia asks the umpire to appeal for silence, and he understandably complies.
Gauff gives the people who just took their seats with their fine concessions something to cheer with two fine winners. Garcia returns fire with a 117-mph serve, and Gauff ends the game with an unforced error with Garcia out of position.
Gauff 3-6 1-2 Garcia* (* – denotes next server)
Gauff opens a must-win game with her first two winners of the set, finding perfect spots with her backhand. Garcia takes the next with a backhand winner of her own, but Gauff’s next serve is right down the center line and befuddles Garcia. Gauff then closes out one of her best games of the match.
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*Gauff 3-6 0-2 Garcia (* – denotes next server)
Garcia looks like she could beat anyone in the world right now – which, this summer, has been what she’s doing. ESPN tells us she’s 28-4 in her last 32 matches.
Gauff isn’t helping her own cause with her own errors, but Garcia is simply in unstoppable force at the moment.
Somehow, Gauff gets to 40-30. Garcia’s aggression means she’s going to miss every once in a while. But the next serve is enough to put Garcia up 2-0.
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Gauff 3-6 0-1 Garcia* (* – denotes next server)
Gauff double faults once more early in the game, and Garcia plays a brilliant point at the net to set up a break point. Gauff responds well to get it to deuce, then puts a second serve on a very sharp angle to get ahead.
Garcia, though, is simply pounding anything she can. And Gauff is misfiring, hitting consecutive unforced errors to give Garcia a break.
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Caroline Garcia wins the first set
Garcia double faults, and it’s 15-30. She hits back to 30-30, then hits a clean winner on a three-shot rally for set point.
For the 100th time in this match (exaggeration), Garcia tosses the ball up and decides against hitting it. But once she resets, she’s a monster yet again, and she closes things out by forcing Gauff to scramble and hit a lob that sails out.
Gauff 3-5 Garcia* (* – denotes next server)
Gauff produces a highlight at 15-0. Garcia makes her rush to the net, and forces Gauff into a soft drop shot of her own. Garcia takes aim down the line, but Gauff shows lightning reflexes to get her backhand to it for the winner.
Garcia doesn’t touch the ball the rest of the game. Ace, double fault, ace. The Frenchwoman will serve for the set, but this is better stuff from the young American.
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*Gauff 2-5 Garcia (* – denotes next server)
Gauff has had far too many points in which she ends up practically sitting on the baseline as she returns, completely unprepared for the deep, powerful shots Garcia is playing. When will she adjust?
As it stands now, it’s mostly a case of whether Garcia will make a mistake. And after an ace, she makes a couple, double-faulting and hitting an unforced error.
Garcia is playing intelligently, though. A couple of points in this long game are won when Garcia hits a forehand that sends Gauff far to her right, and as Gauff scrambles back to the center, Garcia simply powers another shot to the same place.
So the “hope Garcia makes mistakes” strategy might not be the best. Not when Garcia is showing the capacity to end a point with such ease.
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Gauff 2-4 Garcia* (* – denotes next server)
At 15-15, Garcia comes to the net and hits a drop shot. Gauff again gets to it easily, but her shot is far too tame, and Garcia puts it away.
Gauff, though, is finding her serve, both with power and placement. She’s changing speeds and directions to keep Garcia off balance. She closes it out with an ace.
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*Gauff 1-4 Garcia (* – denotes next server)
A few shouts get the crowd going at 30-15, and Garcia responds with an unforced error. Then Gauff pounds Garcia’s second serve for a backhand winner down the line, and all of a sudden, Gauff has a break point.
Garcia easily gets to deuce, driving Gauff into a corner and charging the net for a drop shot that even Gauff can’t reach. But a wayward Garcia forehand gives Gauff another shot at the break. And Garcia goes for a drop shot she never should’ve attempted, dropping it straight into the net.
Might be too late to save the first set, but at least Gauff isn’t getting blown off the court any more.
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Gauff 0-4 Garcia* (* – denotes next server)
The crowd is finally filing in, perhaps a bit late to give Gauff a lift in this set. Garcia comes to the net for a smash to get the first point, and Gauff double-faults to make it 0-30. Gauff responds with an ace, then double-faults again to give Garcia two break points.
A great serve puts Gauff in control of a brief rally to reach 30-40. Then Garcia makes a tactical mistake with a drop shot that the fleet-footed Gauff reaches easily. But then Gauff hits it long, an atrocious unforced error to close out a game in which she gave Garcia three points.
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*Gauff 0-3 Garcia (* – denotes next server)
Garcia is playing an all-or-nothing game, and it’s mostly “all.” A couple of unforced errors give Gauff a bit of a chance, but Garcia is just bashing her way through these games.
The rallies are therefore short until the last one here. Garcia drops the ball far to one side, and Gauff races over to catch it. Garcia then has the entire court in which to hit, and yet Gauff is able to get there and return, getting the first roar from the crowd so far. But Garcia ends the rally with a forehand winner and is in complete command despite Gauff’s breathtaking defense.
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Gauff 0-2 Garcia* (* – denotes next server)
Gauff misses her first serve, and Garcia signals some intent by storming up to midcourt to smash Gauff’s second. Garcia then plays right up on the baseline on the next serves, which seems to be a bad idea after Gauff picks up the speed on her first serves.
Garcia, though, is hitting with absurd powers in these rallies, and she gets break point. Gauff fights back to deuce. Garcia again charges forward on the next point, only to be driven back by a beautiful lob that lands on the baseline. Then she hits a semi-lob that lands in the corner for the winner.
But that’s all of the positives for Gauff in this game. In several of the points, Garcia returned Gauff’s serve from well inside the baseline. Gauff tried to move inside the baseline but ended up having to dig the ball off the ground, unconvincingly.
Clearly rattled, Gauff finished with a double fault to give up the break.
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*Gauff 0-1 Garcia (* – denotes next server)
Garcia starts nervously, missing her first serve twice and getting a let on the next. Gauff moves her from one side to the other for a winner on the first point but loses the next rally, and Garcia dials up her serve to 117 mph, which is 106 more than Spinal Tap’s amps to blast her way through the rest of the opening game.
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The winner tonight will play Ons Jabeur, the fifth-seeded player who ended the run of Ajla Tomljanović this afternoon in a match that ended in straight sets but took an hour and 41 minutes.
As you can tell by Tomljanović’s presence here, this was Serena Williams’ half of the draw.
The crowd is late-arriving, but we’re ready to roll.
Insights from the prematch interviews …
…
None, really. Garcia has had a great year. Gauff has had a great tournament. That would explain why they’re here.
The matchup
Gauff and Garcia are comfortably in the top 20 at No. 12 and No. 17, respectively. Gauff is ranked No. 1 in doubles, but she and fellow American/fellow singles quarterfinalist Jessica Pagula were upset in the first round by Canadian Leylah Fernandez and Australian Daria Saville.
Tonight’s quarterfinalists have met twice, with Gauff taking both. Gauff won in three sets last year in Indian Wells and in straight sets this year in Doha.
It’s hard to believe Gauff is still just 18 years old. Three years ago, she beat Venus Williams at Wimbledon. The tempting narrative is that she’s the next Serena Williams (or Venus), but Gauff’s upbringing is considerably different – rather than honing her craft under her parents’ tutelage and largely outside of the junior circuits, as the Williamses did, Gauff was a staple of the junior scene and reached the US Open girls final at age 13, just five years ago.
Also, it’s rather unfair to set the bar at “Serena Williams.” That’s like starting a pole vault with the bar set at seven meters.
We have rain.
Fortunately, Arthur Ashe Stadium has a retractable roof.
So while it’s been a washout today for some of the doubles matches and all juniors matches, we still get our electrifying doubleheader under the roof, starting with young American Coco Gauff vs. Caroline Garcia of France. The nightcap will feature the man who needs no introduction at this point but will get a big one anyway, Nick Kyrgios, against Karen Khachanov.
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s how Coco Gauff got on at the weekend:
Coco Gauff used her superior speed to overcome a second-set deficit and clinch a thrilling 7-5, 7-5 win over China’s Zhang Shuai to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open for the first time.
In a battle between the youngest player left in the draw, the 18-year-old Gauff, and the oldest, the 33-year-old Zhang, it was the Chinese player who looked sharper at the outset, breaking for a 2-0 lead in the first set. But 12th seed Gauff battled back and fired a backhand winner to claim the first set and electrify her home crowd.
Zhang, a human backboard content to extend rallies from the baseline, grabbed a 5-3 lead when she broke Gauff with a backhand winner of her own in the second set. But Gauff remained poised, breaking back to take a 6-5 lead and winning the point of the match with her astonishing speed when she slid from corner to corner to elicit the error from Zhang.
The crowd roared in approval, chanting Gauff’s name, and Zhang covered her ears to block out the sound, which was amplified by the closed roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“It feels insane. I mean, Ashe Stadium chanting my name?” Gauff, yet to drop a set in the tournament, said during her on-court interview. “I was trying not to smile on the bench on the changeover. I was trying to stay in the moment.”
Gauff sealed the nearly two-hour affair on an error by Zhang and the two exchanged a warm hug at the net.
