If Andy Murray had hoped to ease his way into the first week of the 2015 US Open against some nervous qualifier and conserve his energy for one of the lions lurking deeper in the forest, drawing Nick Kyrgios in the first round has changed all that.
The loudest Australian in shorts since AC/DC (who sold out nearby Giants Stadium on Wednesday night, as it happens) is the game’s villain du jour.
And, although a $25,000 ATP fine and one-month suspended ban for his Stan Wawrinka moment in Montreal hang over his young head for the next six months, those penalties do not kick in here; so fireworks are still possible when he and Murray meet for the fourth time.
It will probably be a showcase night match on day one or two, given the Scot’s stature as the world No3 and a former champion here, and Kyrgios’s notoriety. It emerged as by far the most attractive match of the opening round at the draw here on Thursday – although Rafael Nadal’s encounter with the rising Croat Borna Coric on the other side of the draw is loaded with possibilities.
Murray would reckon to have the measure of Kyrgios – whom he beat handsomely at Roland Garros, had to fight hard against in Melbourne and walloped for the loss of four games in their first match, at the Rogers Cup last year – but it is unlikely to be an easy assignment.
Kyrgios – whose powerful left arm gave up on him at the French Open – has struggled with attitude issues since but, for someone still learning about the game at the highest level, he is commendably cool under pressure on court. His eccentric, dangerous game will have Murray on edge.
Murray surrendered his No2 ranking to Roger Federer in Cincinnati, and is in the top half of the Swiss’s side of the draw, with Wawrinka, whose form is tough to follow lately, a likely opponent in the quarter-finals. James Ward, whose form has been ordinary since a good run at Wimbledon, will do well to get past the world No30, Thomaz Bellucci, and then a qualifier, for a crack at Murray in the third round.
On the other side of the draw, the world No1, Novak Djokovic, has what looks like a routine path to the semi-finals, where he could meet the defending champion, Marin Cilic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Kei Nishikori.
Brydan Klein, flying a British flag with an accent cultivated in Western Australia, needs only one win to make the main draw – and the opponent barring his way is a former compatriot he has never met on the Tour, Matthew Ebden. Klein beat the talented Serb Dusan Lajovic in the first round of qualifying on Wednesday and the Frenchman Tristan Lamasine 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday. Ebden finished strongly to win a tough three-setter against the Russian Dennis Novikov.
Serena Williams tried her best on Thursday to downplay the history that awaits her at Flushing Meadows, even though she has reigned for three years in a row and has a journey with only a few minor pot-holes before the semi-finals, where Ana Ivanovic is a more likely opponent than Maria Sharapova.
The American, who turns 34 next month, needs this title for the calendar slam and to draw alongside Steffi Graf’s Open-era tally of 22 majors, two behind the all-time mark of Margaret Court.
Yet Williams insisted on Thursday: “I really don’t have much at stake. I don’t think of it like that. I just see it as an opportunity to come here and defend my title. I love winning here, I love playing here and that’s all I want to do. There’s a lot confidence I can take [from winning in Cincinnati at the weekend] but now I think about this week and getting everything ready.”
It was as unconvincing a statement of intent as her tennis will be exactly the opposite. There is nobody in the field who can beat her but herself, the same as it has been for some time and the same as it will be for a little while to come. It is not inconceivable that Williams could win here and go on to take all four majors next year too.
If she were to do so, her place at the pinnacle of her sport would be beyond question, ahead of Graf, Court and Martina Navratilova. As Patrick McEnroe said at the draw: “She is already the greatest player of all time in my opinion.”
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