Karen Khachanov stops Aussie in 5 sets; faces Ruud next

New York, September 7

Karen Khachanov stood on court, arms raised, basking in a rowdy crowd’s cheers after reaching his first Grand Slam semifinals at the US Open. Not far away, Nick Kyrgios took out some of his frustration at the so-close-yet-so-far result on a pair of racquets.

First, shortly after the last point of his 7-5 4-6 7-5 6-7(3) 6-4 loss to Khachanov, Kyrgios cracked his piece of equipment against the ground — not once but four times. Then, for a good measure, Kyrgios grabbed yet another racquet out of his bag, reared back and hit that one on the sideline, too.

Kyrgios could not quite follow up his victory over defending champion Daniil Medvedev at Flushing Meadows, bowing out in a high-quality, topsy-turvy quarterfinal that began Tuesday night and concluded more than three-and-a-half hours later at about 1 am Wednesday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“It’s just devastating. Like, it’s heartbreaking,” said Kyrgios, who was runner-up at the Wimbledon in July. “Pretty much every other tournament during the year is a waste of time, really. You should just run up and show up at a Grand Slam. That’s what you’re remembered by.”

Garcia stays hot

Caroline Garcia crushed Coco Gauff’s dreams of taking up the mantle from retiring American great Serena Williams and winning her first US Open with a comprehensive 6-3 6-4 win on Tuesday. The Frenchwoman wasted no time in putting pressure on 18-year-old Gauff, stepping onto the court to attack her second serve and clobbering forehands to race out to a 4-0 lead. — Agencies

Hairy situation: 2 removed for haircut in stands

New York: There was quite a hairy situation at the US Open. Two men’s stay in the Arthur Ashe Stadium seats was, um, cut short after one buzzed the other’s head right there in the stands while Nick Kyrgios and Karen Khachanov played their quarterfinal. They had clippers and the sort of cape a barber usually uses to keep a customer clean. Soon enough, social media users were all excited about how a YouTuber known for his pranks had pulled this one off. Tournament security removed the two from the match. “When someone saw it, security went to the two individuals. They were escorted out of their seats and then off the grounds for disruption of play,” US Tennis Association Brendan McIntyre said, adding: “There’s a first time time for anything.”. AP