Nick Kyrgios’ career-best season has continued with the Australian securing his first ATP Tour title in three years with a straight-sets win in the final of the Citi Open in Washington.
Kyrgios took just 81 minutes to defeat Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4, 6-3, completing a tournament where he held serve 64 times without being broken. It is Kyrgios’s seventh ATP title and first since he won in Washington in 2019.
After the match, the 27-year-old said he had come a long way since he lost in the first round of last year’s Citi Open and admitted he had lost some of his competitive edge.
“It was emotional for me to see where I was last year to now, it’s an incredible transformation,” Kyrgios said. “I just came out with great energy because I knew I had the experience on my side today.
“I love this court, I played so many good matches here. I’m just really happy with myself. I’ve been in some really dark places and just to be able to turn it around …
“There’s so many people who have helped me get there but myself, I’ve shown some serious strength to just continue and just persevere and get through those really tough times and still be able to perform in tournaments like this one.”
Kyrgios is also chasing a third doubles title of the year, having reached the final in Washington alongside American Jack Sock where they will face Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in the decider.
Having reached the Wimbledon final, Kyrgios is seemingly on track to secure an all-important seeding for the US Open starting on 29 August in New York ahead of big events in Montreal and Cincinnati.
Of Nishioka, Kyrgios said: “He’s a tricky opponent and he deserves every minute of celebrating getting into his first 500 final. That was insane, the players he beat to get there were not easy at all, so I have to give him high praise.”
