Nick Kyrgios played an incredible comeback match at the 2024 Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) in New York, beating Casper Ruud in an incredibly dominant way.
Kyrgios has been away from the tennis courts since July 2023 when he competed at the ATP 250 tournament in Stuttgart, losing to Yibing Wu in the first round of the tournament.
On top of that, that was his first professional match in eight months, meaning that his comeback at the 2024 UTS in New York was his second match in 22 months.
In the first quarter of this match, it took some time before the Australian got used to the conditions and the format, as he fell behind 0-3. Very quickly, he found his range and even played a spectacular around-the-net backhand.
Thanks to that shot and many other spectacular shots, Kyrgios was able to erase that deficit and with two minutes to go in the eight minute quarter, he led 10-7 over 'The Ice Man'.
Both players still had their 'next point counts x3' cards. The Norwegian player was the first player to use his card, but Kyrgios erased it with a sensational backhand return to earn the point, and on top of that, he used his card in the next rally and won the point as well, securing a massive 16-8 lead, and he was able to win the quarter with an ace, 17-8.
After winning the first quarter, the 2022 Wimbledon finalist started the second quarter well, too, leading 1-0 and then 2-1, but he lost his lead also because of a missed serve, which technically counts as a double fault, as players have only one serve at the UTS.
At one point in the second quarter, 'King Kyrgios' already fell behind by two points, losing 3-5, but he quickly turned that score to his advantage, leading 8-5 midway through the quarter.
The Australian didn't stop his dominant performance, increasing the lead to 14-8. Ruud tried to cut the deficit by using his 'next point counts x3', but once again, his opponent was able to win that rally and the following one to lead 16-8, and after using his card, Kyrgios once again had a massive lead, this time 19-8.
Once again, he had no issues closing out the quarter, winning it 21-9 to lead 2-0 after two quarters of play. Not only did he lead, but he was completely outplaying the current World No. 8 player after playing only his second match in almost two years.
On top of that, Ruud didn't seem to be happy about something, angrily talking to the referees between the second and the third quarters, seemingly not happy about his opponent not being ready on time for the return.
The UTS format is supposed to be very fast, and the serving player should be able to serve whenever they want, something that Kyrgios rarely has problems with within regular ATP matches, as he's usually one of the fastest players regarding the pace of play.
The second quarter started with both players close to each other in terms of the scoreline, but a few errors quickly saw Kyrgios drop behind, 4-7. Yet, once again, he was able to put together a long streak of points, turning the score around to lead 9-7 and later 11-8.
At 9-11, Ruud used his 'next point counts x3', and once again, Kyrgios outshone him in the rally, ending his hopes of a quick turnaround, but in the following rally, the Australian player also wasn't able to use his card successfully, and soon enough he led only by one point, 12-11.
Still, it was enough for him to close out the match with some more spectacular shots, winning the third quarter 15-11 and the match 17-8, 21-9, and 15-11, to reach the semi-finals of the 2024 UTS New York.
0 Comments