Nick Kyrgios has admitted he needed treatment as his “body was sore” following his Citi Open quarter-final victory over Frances Tiafoe on Friday. The Australian went on to book his place in Sunday’s final after seeing off Mikael Ymer in the last four on Saturday.
Kyrgios had to come from a set down to get the better of American Tiafoe after losing an opening set tiebreak. But the maverick came out on top of a mammoth second-set tiebreak and kept his composure to win the third set 6-2 as he wrapped-up the victory.
Kyrgios’ semi-final clash proved a more straightforward affair as he won another tiebreak in the first set, before taking the second set 6-3. And following his win against the Swede, the 27-year-old explained just how much his quarter-final encounter had taken out of him.
“I didn’t get to sleep until 4.50am,” Kyrgios said. “I had so much adrenaline. I ate some dinner, got some treatment – my body was so sore after last night. It was an epic battle. I didn’t really do much today and I felt like my energy was a little flat today early on. It’s understandable – I’m only human – but my adrenaline for the final is going to be right there. I’m super excited for it.”
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“Honestly I didn’t play anywhere near my best tennis today,” the star said after beating Ymer. “The past couple of matches I’ve been on paper, rankings-wise, the underdog but today I definitely felt like the favourite. I served pretty solid. Obviously my winning percentage behind my first serve would have been high, but from the back of the court I didn’t play well at all.
“The difference was he stands on the fast and he makes you play that extra ball. He’s an incredible athlete and I really wasn’t expecting him to be that fast. Maybe next time I might have a couple different tactics when I play him, maybe not to try and out rally him – maybe come forward a little bit more. But it was a tough-fought semi-final. I’m just happy to be in another final.”