NEW YORK -- Nick Kyrgios said he was "devastated" after losing in the quarterfinals of the US Open to Karen Khachanov.
The match went the distance with Khachanov breaking Kyrgios in the first game of the fifth and then holding serve to book his spot in his first Grand Slam semifinals where he'll face Casper Ruud. The match went 3hrs 39 minutes on Arthur Ashe with Khachanov eventually winning 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-4.
"I'm obviously devastated," Kyrgios said afterwards. "But all credit to Karen. He's a fighter. He's a warrior. I thought he served really good today. Honestly probably the best server I played this tournament, to be honest, the way he was hitting his spots under pressure.
"He just played the big points well. Really wasn't anything in it. I'm just devastated obviously. Just feel like it was either winning it all or nothing at all, to be honest. I feel like I've just failed at this event right now. That's what it feels like."
Nick Kyrgios walks off the court after his five-set quarterfinal defeat at the hands of Karen Khachanov at the US Open. Photo by COREY SIPKIN/AFP via Getty Images
He added: "I honestly feel like s--t. I feel like I've let so many people down. I feel like these four tournaments are the only ones that ever are going to matter. It's just like you got to start it all again. I have to wait till Australian Open. It's just devastating. Like, it's heartbreaking. Not just for me, but for everyone that I know that wants me to win."
Kyrgios was struggling with an injury to his left leg in the opening exchanges. He called the physio at the end of the first set, and the injury improved as the match went on. "At the end of the match, honestly I felt fine. Just mentally distraught," Kyrgios said.
After Kyrgios' fourth round win over defending champion Daniil Medvedev and following Rafael Nadal's defeat to Frances Tiafoe, Kyrgios was the favourite to lift the US Open. But his tally of 58 unforced errors to Khachanov's 31 proved costly, while Kyrgios converted just two of the nine break points he forced.
Kyrgios' last act on Arthur Ashe after the five-set loss on Tuesday evening was to smash two rackets to pieces before walking off. The Australian star has already been fined $18,500 here at Flushing Meadows ($7,500 for "unsportsmanlike conduct", $7,000 for "abuse of racquets or equipment" and $4,000 for "audible obscenity") and received a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct during his defeat to Khachanov for launching a bottle across the court.
Nick Kyrgios throws his racquet to the ground after losing his 2022 US Open quarterfinal match against Karen Khachanov. Photo by COREY SIPKIN/AFP via Getty Images
"It's painful," Khachanov said of Kyrgios' frustration. "I think it hurts for him or it would be the same for me if I would lose that match. It's never easy to lose five sets because you give your best, you give your best throughout the whole match, then it's never easy to accept the defeat.
"To be honest, I didn't look at him after we shaked hands. I saw after the racquets were flying. But I feel the pain for him, yeah."
For Khachanov, this is a career breakthrough having previously reached the quarterfinal stage of the French Open in 2019 and Wimbledon in 2021.
He said he was prepared for Kyrgios to be the crowd favourite in their quarterfinal clash and managed to brush off the interruptions between first and second serves. He'll now face Ruud on Friday as he looks to go one step further and book a spot in Sunday's men's singles final.
"It's like one more step forward," Khachanov said. "I'm really, really happy I could do it. Also I had to face and to beat Nick, who is playing one of the best tennis again."