Nick Kyrgios will confront the Russian he once branded a "pelican" with a two-year old Twitter spat set to be played out on Arthur Ashe Stadium as two of the world's most outspoken tennis stars battle for a spot in the US Open semifinals.
Kyrgios is on the run of a lifetime after defeating world No 1 Daniil Medvedev as bookies declared Australia's Wimbledon finalist the new tournament favourite after the shock defeat of Rafael Nadal on Tuesday.
But favouritism brings a new kind of pressure and with none of the eight players left in the men's draw having ever won a grand slam, Kyrgios is the man they're all taking about at Flushing Meadows.
And standing in his path is Russian opponent Karen Khachanov, who two years ago became embroiled in a back and forth Twitter spat with Kyrgios at the height of the pandemic over comments made by Mats Wilander about Andy Murray playing the French Open.
Kyrgios tweeted "shut up Mats" when the Swede criticised Murray for taking a wildcard in the tournament.
When Khachanov took him to task the pair exchanged verbal volleys which ended with the Russian accusing Kyrgios of "playing video games whole day long" and suggesting he has issues if "you are sitting at home and writing different comments about players that makes me think who has the real problem."
I’ve also been feeding the hungry, helping open up new facilities for kids to get active. But way to do your research you absolute pelican.
Kyrgios delivered his own crisp backhanded winners such as "I'd love to have an intellectual conversation with you but I'm not sure it would go further than how hard you could hit a ball" before signing off with "but way to do your research you absolute pelican."
Arthur Ashe Stadium will be the first time the pair have met on the court since that Twitter clash and since their five-set epic showdown at the Australian Open in 2020 when Kyrgios prevailed in four hours and 26 minutes featuring four tie-break sets.
Khachanov knows Kyrgios is a different beast now, compared to when they last met, especially after his career-defining breakthrough reaching the Wimbledon final.
"I mean, Nick said by himself that he doesn't recognise himself in a way how professional he is right now," Khachanov said.
"I think the Wimbledon showed him if he does the things like he does now which kind of level he has, what he's capable of. Obviously everybody knows that, the way he's serving.
"I think the thing would be the same for me, focus on serve, keep the serve. In rallies we have the same, equal chances. It will be always the question of how the point starts, with the serve and return."
Karen Khachanov of Russia. Photo / AP
For Kyrgios the opportunity is very real. If he can go all the way to win the US Open he could find himself ranked inside the world's top 10 players for the first time in his career.
If he had the ranking points from his Wimbledon final, he'd only need to beat Khachanov to move into the top 10.
Regardless of what for the rest of the US Open, Kyrgios is likely to end the season with a strong enough ranking to guarantee a seeding for the Australian Open in January — not that Kyrgios is obsessed with where he sits in the pecking order.
"I think the ranking system doesn't reward skill and form, to be honest, over a certain period of time," he said.
"It definitely rewards consistency, more so. I've played 12 events. Some of the people in front of me have played 32.
"Obviously it's almost impossible for me to be higher ranked unless I'm going deep like this in tournaments. The rankings for me doesn't really matter.
"I feel like tonight was another message that rankings don't matter. I see No. 1 next to his name and I see 23 next to mine. That doesn't change anything for me. I don't care whether I'm seeded or not. It's nice otherwise I could draw him first round. Do you know what I mean?
"The rankings, I mean, I don't think they mean anything."
