Nick Kyrgios defeated Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan in the men’s final of the ATP and WTA Washington Open on Sunday. This victory gave Kyrgios his eighth ATP championship and his first in three years. Kyrgios finished in second place at Wimbledon.
After winning the 2019 Washington championship, the Australian player, who is now 27 years old, won his first ATP trophy after defeating the Japanese left-hander Nishioka in straight sets, 6-4 and 6-3.
Kyrgios expressed his feelings by saying that it was “emotional for me to come back here again and capture another championship.”
Kyrgios, who was defeated by Novak Djokovic in his maiden Grand Slam final a month ago, made it to back-to-back tour-level finals for the first time in his career, and he did not allow a single service break during the whole week.
When I compare where I was this time last year to where I am today, it makes me feel a lot of different emotions. Kyrgios described the change as “simply an unbelievable transformation.” “I’ve been through some really low points in my life.
“I’ve showed some significant strength to be able to continue and just persist and go through all those moments and still be able to perform and win tournaments like this one,” she said. “There are so many individuals who have helped me get there.”
The 63rd best in the world Kyrgios won the match against Nishioka in 81 minutes thanks to his 12 aces, 32 wins, four double faults, and 20 unforced mistakes. He also won 22 of 25 first-serve games.
Kyrgios is quoted as saying, “I came out with a lot of energy.” “I was confident in my ability because to my years of expertise. I couldn’t be happier with who I am right now.”
Kyrgios won this match, bringing his record against Nishioka to 4-0, with his most recent victory coming in the third round of his quest for the 2019 Washington championship.
Liudmila Samsonova defeated Kaia Kanepi of Estonia in the women’s final match of the tournament, winning her second WTA championship overall by a score of 4-6, 6-3, and 6-3. Her maiden victory came on the grass courts of the German Open in Berlin the year before last.
Kyrgios was scheduled to partner up with American Jack Sock in the later doubles final, where they would compete for the chance to become the first player in the 53-year history of the US Capital tournament to win both the singles and doubles championships.
Kyrgios denied the Asian southpaw’s lone break opportunity with a backhand winner in the sixth game, and he held on to win the first set with his seventh ace after Nishioka made a backhand error that cost him a break point in the opening game. Kyrgios went on to win the first set with his seventh ace.
In the opening game of the second set, Kyrgios took the lead when Nishioka missed a forehand and again in the last game when Nishioka missed a backhand on the Australian’s third match chance.
Nishioka, who won his lone ATP title in 2018 in Shenzhen, hadn’t won a tour-level match since March until this week, when he defeated eighth-ranked Andrey Rublev in the semi-finals of the tournament. Nishioka earned his sole ATP title in 2018, which he won at Shenzhen. On Monday, he will move up 42 places to take the 54th slot in the global rankings.
Nishioka said, “When the year first started, I experienced a nightmare.” I’ve been thinking that if I can’t get back into the top 50, it’s time for me to hang it up. Now, I believe that it’s possible for me to play for a few more years.”
The next spot that Kyrgios will occupy in the world rankings is 37th. If points toward his world ranking had been given out at Wimbledon, he would have finished 15th there.