Tennis Podcast: Why was Nick Kyrgios so subdued in US Open exit?
For better or worse, Nick Kyrgios usually puts on a show in night session matches. On Saturday at the US Open, however, as he lost in straight sets to Andrey Rublev, he never came out of his shell in a strangely subdued performance. The Tennis Podcast presenters Catherine Whitaker (Amazon Prime Video, Eurosport) and David Law (BBC 5 Live, BT Sport) believe his more restrained approach actually worked against him.
Why was he unable to reach a compromise between behaving well and also doing the things which make him so exhilarating? Did he let himself care too much? And how much was he neutralised by the relentlessness of Rublev?
Elsewhere, there’s discussion about Naomi Osaka’s statement performance to beat Coco Gauff, positives for Denis Shapovalov despite a heart-breaking five-set defeat to Gael Monfils, and excitement as Taylor Townsend and Bianca Andreescu set up a fourth-round clash.
Looking ahead to Sunday’s action, is Jo Konta’s 1-6 head-to-head record against Karolina Pliskova a bit misleading? And why do Whitaker and Law think Stan Wawrinka can beat Novak Djokovic?
There will be daily editions of The Tennis Podcast throughout the US Open, produced in association with The Telegraph.
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