By Chris Oddo | Sunday October 9, 2016
Nick Kyrgios won the biggest title of his career in Tokyo, defeating David Goffin in three sets.
Photo Source: Tennis TV
Nick Kyrgios let his tennis do the talking in Tokyo this week and the message was heard by all who faced him: The kid is for real.
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The determined Aussie battled past David Goffin, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, to claim the Rakuten Japan Open title, the biggest of his career and surely the most satisfying as well.
After cruising past Gael Monfils in Saturday’s semifinals, Kyrgios was made to work much harder on Sunday against the speedy Goffin. The Belgian blanketed the court all evening long and used his backhand to bully Kyrgios in many of the rallies. He was the more physical player for much of the match, but Kyrgios picked his spots to join the fray as the two engaged in a spirited affair that lasted two hours.
The recurring theme of the match was the creation and subsequent disappearance of break points (there were 25 in total and only three converted), and it started early. Goffin saved all five break points he faced to take the first set, but Kyrgios struck for a pivotal break in the fourth game of the second set after saving five break points of his own to hold for 2-1.
Goffin tried valiantly to poke holes in Kyrgios, and he certainly made inroads, but Kyrgios showed a surprising amount of resilience in this match. Though pushed to the brink on many occasions he never yielded. He was calm (almost serene) and never overheated. When frustration seemed to be mounting he found ways to buck the trend and stay calm and on mission.
Never was Kyrgios’ newfound stoicism more apparent than during an incident that occurred as he was serving to stay alive in the third set at 4-5. There was a loud sound in the stadium as he rallied with Goffin, and after losing the point the Aussie looked to the umpire Damien Steiner to briefly plead for a let call. In matches past we’ve seen Kyrgios implode over far less, but the Aussie calmly brushed the negativity aside, let it go and recovered to serve out the game. He then broke in the next game before serving out the victory.
Kyrgios saved 11 of 12 break points in total, and broke twice on 13 opportunities.
Afterwards Kyrgios praised his opponent, thanked the fans and told his new fitness trainer that he couldn’t have won this tournament without him.
It was Kyrgios’ third career title, and third of the season. But this was the Aussie’s biggest title, both in stature and symbolically. On Sunday Kyrgios showed the world that he can be so much more than a volatile talent who will be forever limited by his own lack of discipline. His performance was mature beyond his years, and those who believed that Kyrgios was incapable of evolving into the type of athlete that could rely on grit as well as talent were proven wrong.
Goffin drops to 2-4 lifetime in finals with the loss. The 25-year-old has not won a title since the fall of 2014.
Kyrgios becomes the fifth ATP player to have earned three or more titles with his victory, joining Novak Djokovic (7), Andy Murray (4), Dominic Thiem (4) and Stan Wawrinka (4).