When the US Open draw was released, one of the matches that stood out was a clash between Nick Kyrgios and close friend Thanasi Kokkinakis. Kyrgios made sure the blockbuster matchup did not turn into an epic battle.

The 23rd seed defeated Kokkinakis 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) to reach the second round at Flushing Meadows. He will play Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi for a place in the third round.

Kyrgios has shown the best form of his career in recent months, reaching the Wimbledon final, winning the Washington title and defeating World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in Montreal. He maintained that form inside Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday evening following Serena Williams’ match, triumphing after two hours and one minute.

The seven-time ATP Tour titlist raced through the first two sets in just more than an hour, using his serve to dominate play. There were few long rallies in the match, with both men looking to dictate the action with their forehand.

Kokkinakis did not earn a break point, but he made things interesting by holding from 0/40 in the third set and pushing the set to a tie-break. At 4/4, Kokkinakis just missed a forehand down the line wide, which proved a fatal mistake. Kyrgios won the next two points on his serve to clinch his victory just two minutes short of midnight.

Kyrgios’ next opponent, Bonzi, outlasted fellow Frenchman Ugo Humbert 7-6(1), 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 6-2. It was the World No. 50’s first main draw match at the US Open.

Did You Know?
Kyrgios and Kokkinakis have enjoyed success as a doubles tandem this year, becoming known as the “Special Ks”. The friends won the Australian Open title together.

As if a shock first-round exit at the US Open wasn’t painful enough, Stefanos Tsitsipas was also left ruing his lost shot at World No. 1 in the wake of his four-set defeat to Colombian qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan on Monday night.

The Greek was one of five players who had the opportunity at Flushing Meadows to hold the No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Ranking at the end of the tournament, but that dream is now gone.

“I was very motivated and pumped before the US Open started because I knew I could use this tournament to get closer to the No. 1 spot,” Tsitsipas said. “It would be very weird and very unusual if it didn’t cross my mind, because this is something I wanted since I was a kid and I know this is my chance now to step it up.

“It just didn’t go as planned. Sometimes you just need to let it go, you don’t need to overthink it, you don’t need to push yourself too hard but at the same time it’s difficult because there’s this open opportunity right in front of you, you don’t want to mess it up, you don’t want to waste it.

“My chances, I guess, are a bit smaller. The margin is not as thin as it used to be now after the US Open but I’m still going to try and add points to my ranking, as much as I can until the end of the year, I really want to perhaps finish in the Top 3… more opportunities ahead.”

Tsitsipas’ loss leaves defending champion Daniil Medvedev, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud as the four players who now have a chance to be ranked No. 1 after the Open.

Tsitsipas received treatment during the match on his upper right arm but said that Galan’s ultra-aggressive play – especially on the return – was the bigger factor in the 6-0, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 defeat, during which he lost the first 11 games of the match.

“My arm was pretty tight, nothing was coming off my strokes. I felt like my serve was very slow today, but it was close to the 120s, so I wouldn’t necessarily say that it was. But he returned great, extremely well. I’m pretty sure it has to do with the altitude where he grew up for sure helps a lot with this kind of stuff.

“It crossed my mind when I started playing him that might be due to that. He did a great job, he dominated the game completely. I just couldn’t get into the match at all, it was as if I was half-dead.”

Tsitsipas, who has never reached the second week at the US Open, is No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, while Galan surges 14 places to No. 80.

“He played like a world-class player and I played like close to an amateur, not very nice to say that, but that’s what happened,” the two-time Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters champion said.

“I was very well prepared, I was playing very well in practice, had some really good matches against different kinds of players. I felt like the momentum was in my favour, I just might’ve felt a little tense going into the match. US Open, I never really had a good history here but I do like the tournament a lot. Just need to work on the negative thoughts a bit more and not let them affect me and not get in my head, because I’m better than that, I’m a much better player and athlete, but definitely not today.”

Marin Cilic arrives at the US Open holding fond memories, having soared to his maiden Grand Slam title in New York in 2014.

The Croatian, who defeated Roger Federer en route to the trophy eight years ago, will be aiming to build on recent third-round results in Montreal and Cincinnati as he aims to replicate his dream 2014 run this year at the hard-court major.

Ahead of his opening match against Maximilian Marterer, ATPTour.com caught up with Cilic’s coach Ivan Cinkus to learn more about their relationship, the 33-year-old’s season, his upcoming aims and much more.

Marin is having another great season, how happy have you been with his performances?
Marin is doing great. Reached the fourth round in Australia and semi-finals in his first two tournaments. He is improving his game. He played really well on the clay. Ok, he lost to Sascha Zverev in Madrid, but he played well and it built up his confidence and it helped him at Roland Garros. He played really well in Paris and reached the semis. It is really good.

Roland Garros he was on top form. Everything we had done before meant he was rising in form and then in Paris, he put everything together. We as a team and myself as a coach are happy about it, with his improvement and mentality.

Marin has won titles consistently each year since 2008, How has Marin been able to stay at the top so consistently for so long?
He is always focused. Whether it is practise or matches. He is a really great worker on the court. A hard worker. He wants to improve his game. Marin is always wanting to improve his game. The top players have been doing this. You need to be focused all the time and that is the difference between players who have played on the Tour for 15 years and those who are in their first year or two.

_{^{Ivan Cinkus [above]. Photo Credit: Sam Jacot/ATP Tour}}
What is the biggest thing you have learned since you first started working with Marin seven years ago?
The thing I have learned is you need to be prepared. For example, in Australia in the 2018 Australian Open final, we were only told 20 minutes before the final that the roof was going to be closed. We asked every hour waiting to be told. Then we went to warm up on an indoor court. This is what you need to learn, to be prepared.

I also like seeing what other coaches and players are doing to be prepared to better myself. If you are a coach, you work with different players. So you need to adapt. For Marin one style works, for another it is something else, so you need to find a way to help them. That is the difference between the good coaches and the best.

How has your journey been so far and what is your relationship like off-court?
We were together for four and a half years and then we split for two years so he could have something fresh. Then in December 2021, we joined again, doing preseason together. We like to walk and visit sites. If we are in big cities, we like to go to the theatre and shows. We like to drink coffee and watch TV shows. We like to relax. Every time we go to a city, we want to see something new.

How would you describe Marin as a person?
Marin is a great person. A really warm person. He wants to help. Now he has two kids and he is enjoying time with them. He is more relaxed now with the kids. It has improved his life, his family and his kids. He really wants to talk and explain what he is doing. It is a good quality of his.

In 2019/2020 he a slight dip in level, not winning a title. Did he ever think about stopping?
No. With Covid, the atmosphere was a little bit down, but he never thought about stopping. He was ok and has proved it last season and this year so far.

What are your aims for the rest of the grass-court season and then the year overall?
We want to improve his net play, coming to the net. Improving his power on his groundstrokes and coming into the net. Also, to keep going on the serve. Reaching the Top 15 [in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings] is an aim. He is already close. We said at the beginning of the season it was Top 15. He was Top 30 last two seasons. You can’t say Top 10 as everyone wants to be Top 10. But I said Top 15 would be perfect and anything else would be amazing.

The US Open action kicks off Monday with a host of big names seeking a strong start at the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year. They include defending champion and top seed Daniil Medvedev, while regular doubles partners Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis meet in a blockbuster opening-round clash.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch on opening day at Flushing Meadows.

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1) ‘Special Ks’ Clash: Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis’ close on- and off-court relationship has been a defining feature of their success as a doubles team in 2022, but how will the Australian duo react to being on opposite sides of the net?

The pair’s first tour-level singles meeting rounds off the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium, where 23rd seed Kyrgios will hope to maintain his strong form at the majors after reaching his maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in July. Both players have already enjoyed hard-court success in 2022 — Kokkinakis claimed his first ATP Tour title in Adelaide in January, while Kyrgios lifted his seventh tour-level trophy in Washington, D.C. earlier this month.

2) Medvedev Meets Home Favourite: Medvedev competes on Arthur Ashe Stadium for the first time since clinching his maiden Grand Slam crown there a year ago. The top seed takes on Stefan Kozlov, the World No. 111 who will be looking to channel the support of his home crown on his US Open main draw debut.

Medvedev has a story of his own with the New York fans, however, appearing to have won them over with a combination of blistering on-court performances and dry wit in interviews after a rocky start. “I feel like in New York I have a special relationship with the crowd,” he said in his pre-tournament press conference. “I have no idea how it’s going to go this year, but I’m happy to be here and happy to experience whatever’s going to happen.”

3) Scene Set For Tsitsipas?: Has the time come for a deep Stefanos Tsitsipas run at the US Open? The fourth seed is yet to make it past the third round in four main draw appearances in New York, but he has already found his winning groove on the hard courts of North American this summer with a run to the championship match at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati two weeks ago.

Tsitsipas opens against another player high on confidence, however, in Daniel Elahi Galan. The Colombian did not drop a set in his three qualifying matches to reach the main draw in New York for the first time.

4) Former Champs In Action: Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem all know what it takes to go all the way in New York. The 2012, 2016, and 2020 champions, respectively, they nonetheless face tricky opening duels as they bid to kick-start another successful fortnight at Flushing Meadows.

Murray takes on the fast-rising 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo, Wawrinka meets the dangerous Frenchman Corentin Moutet, and Thiem faces Montreal champion Pablo Carreno Busta.

5) Wu & Zhang Fly Flag For China: Wu Yibing and Zhang Zhizhen made history with their successful qualification campaigns last week in New York, where the duo are set to become the first Chinese men in the Open Era to compete in the US Open main draw.

Both players are in action on Day 1 in the Big Apple, where 2017 boys’ singles champion Wu is hoping to upset 31st seed Nikoloz Basilashvili on Court 13. Zhang, who made his Grand Slam main draw debut at Wimbledon in June, meets the powerful Dutchman Tim van Rijthoven.