New, improved Kyrgios steps up major bid

Defeat of defending champion Medvedev provides more proof of Aussie's reinvention

NEW YORK－Nick Kyrgios sat in the Arthur Ashe Stadium locker room after ending Daniil Medvedev's US Open title defense and stay at No 1 in the rankings and felt a mix of pride and relief.

Pride at the big-serving, solid-returning performance that resulted in a 7-6 (11), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Medvedev on Sunday night, the latest in a series of career-altering results that carried Kyrgios to his first quarterfinal at Flushing Meadows on the heels of his run to his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon.

Pride, he said, at lifting himself out of "some really tough situations, mentally" and "some really scary places" off the court, which he first revealed in February. Pride, he went on, at succeeding in distancing himself from "feeling so depressed all the time, feeling so sorry for myself".