Nick Kyrgios ‘devastated’ after quarterfinal defeat to Karen Khachanov as he destroys two rackets on court
Kyrgios, who defeated Novak Djokovic, Tommy Robredo and Denis Shapovalov en route to reaching the last eight, said: ‘I’m devastated. I really am. I feel devastated.
‘I don’t know what to think now or what to say. I probably should just sit down and reflect. I kind of feel like crying. I’ve never been in such a situation.
‘I was just trying to put all the emotions aside and keep a level head. It’s been hard. I was never going to be playing like that. I didn’t know it was happening.’
Kyrgios started the fourth set on the third seed’s serve and after losing to the second seed in the first, he then went on to lose in the quarterfinals to the fourth seed.
Kyrgios, the 2011 Australian Open men’s champion who won five grand slams, also lost to Roger Federer at the US Open, in a four-set encounter that lasted just over three hours.
‘The fourth set, I thought I was in control,’ Kyrgios revealed. ‘I just didn’t put the right shot on net. I was so disappointed in how I played that set.
‘I couldn’t really get into a rhythm for the most part of that set. I had to hit my forehand into the corner of the court. I tried to stay inside. I’ll be honest, I felt I’d be more comfortable if I got a little bit more service.
‘But I didn’t really get any service at all.’
While Kyrgios ended his own run of grand slam success at the Australian Open, the 21-time Grand Slam winner admitted he was not as good as he would have liked to be.
