On Sunday, despite succumbing in straight sets to Grigor Dimitrov in the final at Cincinnati, Nick Kyrgios was chirpy. It was his maiden Masters 1000 series runners-up trophy, but for the mercurial 22-year old Australian, the greater accomplishment was to simply play pain-free again.
“I feel great where I’m at right now,” he said. “I’m pretty excited for the US Open. I’m just happy, being out there and getting some wins again.”
Only three weeks ago, Kyrgios had slinked off from his second-round match at Washington with shoulder pain. In the following week at Montreal, he pocketed two wins against lower ranked opponents before being swatted aside by Alexander Zverev.
However, just as the final Grand Slam of the year appears on the horizon, this upsurge in form of one of the game’s most incandescent talents is a mouth-watering prospect. Among Kyrgios’ victims in Cincinnati were ninth seed David Goffin and about to be crowned World No 1 Rafael Nadal – a timely reminder that when functioning to optimum capacity, Kyrgios can be mesmerising.
“Gradually, I just feel back to where I should feel on a tennis court,” he said, explaining his most recent ordeal. “I wasn’t enjoying it at all, didn’t want to be out there. External things were affecting how I was feeling. It really didn’t make sense.”
Intriguingly, along with Dimitrov and Zverev, the last two men to have beaten him, Kyrgios forms a troika of young players that can potentially achieve a career-defining breakthrough at the US Open. Even as veterans, Nadal and Roger Federer, seek to complete a sweep of the major titles of the year, a familiar cast of characters is no longer standing in their way.
Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka have already ended their season to heal injured bodies. Andy Murray is battling a hip injury and hasn’t played since his quarterfinal exit at Wimbledon. Wimbledon finalist and 2014 champion Marin Cilic is also uncertain while Canadian world No 11 Milos Raonic and Japan’s Kei Nishikori are among the other high-profile players sitting out with injury.
In fact, Federer himself has shown his first signs of frailty this year, withdrawing from Cincinnati with a sore back after losing in the final at Montreal to Zverev. While he is expected to recover full fitness in time for the US Open, there is little doubt the door has been left enticingly open for this new generation of players to barge through.
With five titles already this season and having risen to six in the world rankings, 20-year old Zverev presents a compelling threat to the established order. However, it is the oldest of this emerging troika, 26-year old Dimitrov, who is rekindling the sparkle in his play at the most opportune moment.
I n C i n c i n n a t i , Dimitrov won his first Masters 1000 title in his ninth year on the professional circuit. At the start of the year, the Bulgarian won titles in Brisbane and Sofia and also reached the semifinals at the Australian Open, losing a memorable five-setter to Nadal. Having endured a slump on Clay and Grass, Dimitrov has found his shot-making range again on his preferred hard courts.
Dimitrov didn’t drop a set on his way to the title in Cincinnati and won 52 of his 53 service games. As he returns to the top-10 in the rankings, Dimitrov’s career might just be at the perfect intersection – plentiful big tournament experience combined with exceptional shot-making skill, placing him among the leading contenders for the title in New York.
“Going to the US Open, it’s for sure a lot of positivity with it,” Dimitrov said after his win. “But the most important thing now is just to stay grounded, keep on doing the same work, believe in myself, and just prepare the best way that I can.”
Quite clearly, this is a delicious passage for men’s tennis. A generation of legends has ferociously reclaimed its turf even as an emerging pack is clamouring for their slice of the pie.