Nick Kyrgios gave it all he had but, in the end, in the midday Montreal heat, there were just too many aches and pains.
Key points:
- Nick Kyrgios falls away late against Hubert Hurkacz after sending the first two sets to tiebreakers
- Kyrgios said after the match his main focus was on his parents, who are “not very well at the moment”
- The in-form Kyrgios will return home after the US Open
The mercurial Australian’s nine-match winning singles run came to a disappointing end in the quarter-finals of the Montreal Masters 1000, worn down by fatigue, a sore back, and the relentless serving of Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz.
The number eight seed won 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (5-7), 6-1 with the final set, which took just 27 minutes after the first two lasted 38 and 41 respectively.
Kyrgios did not call a trainer or complain, but looked off the pace physically. He also had plenty on his mind with his parents of him unwell.
“I honestly don’t care [about losing the winning streak],” Kyrgiossaid.
“I’ve been away from home, away from my mum, away from my dad.
“They’re not very well at the moment. So I don’t really care about ‘no winning streak’.
“I got two more tournaments [Cincinnati and the US Open] left before I can go home.”
Kyrgios had won 15 of his past 16 singles matches, with the only defeat against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. But that is a lot of tennis for a player who has pursued a reduced schedule in recent years.
In Washington last week he won the singles and the doubles, playing 10 matches in all. This was thus his 15th match this month in the US hardcourt swing.
“Nick was maybe a little bit injured, which might have hurt his serve,” Hurkacz said.
“With both of us serving so well, that few per cent can make the difference.”
Hurkacz took the first set on the tie-break with a backhand winner. Kyrgios then leveled, also via the tie-break, with an ace.
But he swiftly went 0-3 down in the final set and required four game points to hold for 1-3.
But on Kyrgios’s next service game Hurkacz saved four game points before breaking at the first attempt to go 5-1 up and end the Australian’s resistance.
“Nick has been playing really unbelievable throughout the past few months,” Hurkacz said.
“Battling against him, it’s very challenging, but it’s also fun.
“He can make every single shot. He doesn’t really have that many weaknesses, if any. I was just trying to serve good and stay aggressive.”
Hurkacz will play fourth seed Casper Ruud in the semi-finals.
The Norwegian thrashed local favorite Felix Auger-Aliassime, handing the young Canadian the heaviest defeat of his career 6-1, 6-2.
AAP
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