"You never know what's gonna come out of his racquet or his mouth" - Ruud on Kyrgios

| by Alfredo Bassanelli

The 27-years-old Australian was only one match from facing Casper Ruud, who he had a few heated conversations with previously.

Nick Kyrgios could have met Casper Ruud in the semifinals of the 2022 US Open, but Karen Khachanov stopped this from happening and so fans in New York won't witness this heated clash. After his quarterfinal match, the Norwegian spoke about his possible opponent, who previously joked about his game style, stating:

“I’m sure you wouldn’t run your mouth so much after that. Until then I will continue to rather watch paint dry (than) watch you play tennis, boring AF.” - Kyrgios stated previously.

"I think he has, first of all, taken big steps in his tennis this year, because he has proven that obviously he has been a very, very big talent as a teenager already and beaten the big guys already since he was 18, 19 years old, but this year he has proven that he can do it for many matches in a row, weeks in a row, week in and week out to be there and play very well. That's exciting to see," Casper Ruud said.

2022 US Open ATP & WTA Prize Money & Points Overview - more than $60 million
2022 US Open ATP & WTA Prize Money & Points Overview - more than $60 million

"It seems that he's really gone in for it this year and giving it a real shot, because he was close to being top 10 some years back, and then I'm not sure what happened after, but he sort of fell down a little bit in the rankings and has been a little bit up and down."

"But now he's back to I think where his game belongs and where he belongs in the ranking. It's unfortunate he didn't get points for Wimbledon, because otherwise he would be top 15 again and probably close to top 10 with his result here. We all know that he's dangerous," Ruud added.

Nick Kyrgios' fines at 2022 US Open climb over $15,000 already
Nick Kyrgios' fines at 2022 US Open climb over $15,000 already

"On the personal note, there are not that much of a relationship. I mean, we didn't say hi in the locker room for some time, but we do now, so it's better. There were a time where it was a bit probably tense after things were said back and forth, but he actually came to me in Laver Cup last year and congratulated me when I won my match, which was nice," he said.

"I think it's easier now, and things have been forgotten. Things have been said, but there is no need to dwell on the past. I mean, he's, yeah, exciting player always to watch, and you never know what's gonna come out of his racquet or his mouth, but in the end, at least he came to me and said that he was happy to see me play well. So that was nice," Ruud added.

"I didn't look at him after we shook hands" - Khachanov on Kyrgios smashing racquet after loss
"I didn't look at him after we shook hands" - Khachanov on Kyrgios smashing racquet after loss

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