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A focused Nick Kyrgios has won his second ATP Tour 500 series title of the year with a hard-fought victory over Daniil Medvedev in the final of the Washington Open.
Despite a troublesome back, Kyrgios fired 18 aces on his way to a 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4) victory over the Russian third seed – including one on match point when he requested advice from a member of the crowd on where to direct his serve for the third successive match.
Kyrgios backed up his semi-final victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas with his second career win over the third-seeded Medvedev.
The result improves his win-loss record against top-10 opponents this year to 5-1 – a winning percentage of 83, best on the ATP Tour in 2019.
The 24-year-old will pocket $365,390 ($A537,830) for claiming his sixth ATP tournament success.
But more importantly he will rise 25 spots to world No.27 when the rankings are updated on Monday and is in line for a seeding at the US Open later this month.
Speaking on Amazon Prime, Kyrgios said: “It’s amazing. Where I was six months ago, some of the things I was doing, to respond like this having incredible support, it’s amazing.
“I’ve proved to myself and a lot of people that have backed me that I still have it.
“It’s been one of the best weeks of my life from a tennis perspective.”
Kyrgios finished with 111 aces through six matches in Washington.
In a match dominated by serve, neither Kyrgios nor Medvedev faced a break point with the Australian edging total points won 72 to 71.
Kyrgios, somewhat subdued during the first set, was more demonstrative after receiving treatment before the start of the second set and delighted the crowd once again with his array of shot making.
He saved his first under-arm serve until the second set, showcased his array of tweeners, including a lob and a drop shot, hit a stack of winners and held his nerve when it mattered as some Medvedev unforced errors in the tiebreakers proved decisive.
Kyrgios and Medvedev will meet again in a few days if the Australian No.1 gets past Kyle Edmund in his opening round of the Montreal Masters.
Medvedev, the eight seed, has a first-round bye and is drawn to face Kyrgios or Briton Kyle Edmund in the second round of the Masters 1000 event.
© AAP
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