Then, catching himself, the Wimbledon runner-up added with a knowing smile: “The relationship is still difficult with the referees.” Kyrgios extended his career-best run and produced another performance to be taken seriously at the US Open, saving the only break point he faced in the final en route to a 6-4, 6-3 victory over by Yoshihito. Nishioka at the Citi Open. 2 Related “I feel like my motivation is a lot higher than it used to be… There’s a little window, I have to take advantage of it,” said Kyrgios, who fell to his back on the blue court when the match ended. he then returned to that stage in the evening to partner Jack Sock for a doubles trophy as well, defeating French Open finalists Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek 7-5, 6-4. “I don’t care what people say about my tennis, like, ‘Always disrespecting the sport,’ all that, all that,” said Kyrgios, the first man to win the Washington singles and doubles in the same year. “I know, deep down, I’m trying really hard to do it my way. I know I’m inspiring millions of people and I’m just playing for them.” Kyrgios’ seventh career tour-level championship came where his sixth came in 2019 — on the hard courts of the American capital in a tune-up to Flushing Meadows. “It’s very emotional for me,” Kyrgios said. As usual when Kyrgios is on his game, the serve came through: He hit 12 aces and won 22 of 25 first-serve points. He won all nine of his service games against Nishioka, making him 64-for-64 in the tournament, finishing the week by saving all 10 of his opponents’ break points. All Kyrgios had to deal with on Sunday came at 3-2 in the first set and Kyrgios sealed it with a volley winner. “I couldn’t understand his service game,” said Nishioka, who ranked Kyrgios No. 1 on tour in that category and also praised the 27-year-old Australian for being “more focused” than earlier in his career. Kyrgios managed to break Japan’s Nishioka, who is ranked 96th and eliminated top seed Andrey Rublev in the semifinals, three times — in the first game of each set and again in the final game of the match. It marks some unusual consistency for Kyrgios as he advanced to his first Grand Slam final at the All England Club, where he lost to Novak Djokovic. Kyrgios earned no ranking points for that showing — no points were awarded to anyone at Wimbledon — but the singles title in Washington will push him from 63rd to 37th, within range of a potential US Open ranking. Play begins at Flushing Meadows on August 29. This is less than a week after a scheduled court hearing in Australia on a joint assault charge against Kyrgios, who his ex-girlfriend claimed grabbed her. Kyrgios’ win was shown on the Tennis Channel, which pulled the women’s final from its main station and aired pickleball instead — because of what tournament chairman Mark Ein described as a prior commitment. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
