Roger Federer taunted Nick Kyrgios for his shot-making audacity after delivering a tennis masterclass to send the flashy Australian packing from the the US Open in New York.
The 20-times grand slam champion produced some at-times breathtaking tennis in sweeping past Kyrgios 6-4 6-1 7-5 in their much hyped third-round showdown at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Federer’s emphatic victory set up a last-16 meeting with another Australian, unseeded journeyman John Millman, on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals.
Gracious himself in defeat, Kyrgios lamented not converting any of four break-point chances in the seventh game of the opening set, in which he had Federer down love-40.
“I take one of those points, the match is wide open,” Kyrgios said.
“He’s not going to play as well as he did towards the end of the first set or into the second set. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out.”
While it was opportunity lost for Kyrgios, Federer raised his game to imperious levels after the reprieve.
At one point, the Swiss marvel played one of the shots of his career, a jaw-dropping around-the-net-post forehand winner that left even his vanquished opponent in awe.
“Oh my god. Yeah, it was unbelievable. I’m probably going to place it on Instagram,” Kyrgios said.
But it was Kyrgios’s questionable shot-making that led to Federer subtly twisting the knife afterwards.
The former world No.1 felt Kyrgios paid the price for attempting a low-percentage fancy drop shot at 40-15 while trying to serve for a 6-5 lead in the third set.
When it caught the net, Federer took full advantage, breaking Kyrgios for a fourth time before closing out the match the very next game.
“He should have hit a normal forehand in the open court and he chooses to go for sort of the drop shot, which at the end cost him the match,” Federer said.
“So clearly when you play that way and you lose, it’s always, like, you feel like he’s so much to blame, but that’s just how he plays.
“But today I think he didn’t come up with the goods when he really had to, and I was good, I think, by making him hit that extra shot.
“Things worked well for me today.”
Kyrgios even imitated Federer’s service motion at one point, which the Swiss was unable to return.
But he said no matter what he tried, Federer had the answers.
“He was too good,” Kyrgios said.
“I thought the first set was key.
“Got to the business end of the first set, crucial moment, played a terrible service game – didn’t make any first serves.
“It was tough. I knew how important that first set was.
“He loosened up straightaway after that. He started playing some shots that we all know he can make.
“All the pressure was off him.
“He’s an unbelievable frontrunner. When he gets in front, there’s not much you can do.”
