Kyrgios capitulates in Miami Open defeat to Khachanov

March 21, 2025 journo

Nick Kyrgios has crashed out of the Miami Open following a 7-6 (7/3), 6-0 defeat to Karen Khachanov in the second round.

The Australian was playing his second match in three days after his encouraging first-round victory over Mackenzie McDonald.

His win over McDonald was his first tour-level triumph since 2022 after spending much of the past few years on the sidelines with injury.

Against Khachanov, Kyrgios delivered a dismal second-set performance in which he mustered just seven points.

But there was much to applaud about the way he competed against Khachanov in the first set, taking the Russian 22nd seed to a tiebreak.

But after missing the chance to go 3-1 up in the tiebreak, Kyrgios’s game fell apart.

He became irritated with himself and his team at courtside, offering a running commentary as the second set progressed.

He smashed a ball high out of court to earn a warning from the chair umpire at one stage, before the second set concluded after just 21 minutes.

It was a display offering a tantalising glimpse of the brilliance Kyrgios can still produce against a player of Khachanov’s quality.

Kyrgios’s conditioning after his injury setbacks is still clearly nowhere near good enough to rattle the best players, as Khachanov moved on to a clash with Grigor Dimitrov in the last 32.

Another Australian, Rinky Hijikata, lost to 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic 6-0, 7-6 (7/1).

Djokovic had not won a match since his injury exit in the Australian Open semifinals.

Meanwhile, Australia’s Tristan Schoolkate also lost in the second round, having been defeated by Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-4.

In the women’s draw, Australia’s Kim Birrell went down in three sets to Ukraine’s 23rd seed Mart Kostyuk, who triumphed 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.

AAP