Kyrgios, a finalist at Wimbledon in 2022, has enjoyed several impressive results during his time in the sport but has never quite gotten over the line at the biggest events.

Reaching a career-high of 13th in the world, Kyrgios has won seven titles on the ATP Tour, including four at the ATP 500 level.

The 29-year-old recently made his return to Grand Slam tennis after 859 days at the Australian Open, as Kyrgios lost to Jacob Fearnley in the first round.

A disappointing result for Kyrgios, who was once tipped to reach the latter stages of Major tournaments on a regular basis.

Roger Federer predicted Nick Kyrgios would reach ‘at least’ the fourth round of the US Open nine years ago

During a press conference announcing the Laver Cup in 2016, tennis legend Roger Federer was asked how far he thought Kyrgios could go in New York later that year.

“Well, I think it depends a little bit on the draw,” he said.

“Of course, if he’s near Novak [Djokovic], then of course Novak would be the favorite or something like that.

“If he’s not around in the draw, then of course he could maybe have a deeper run and you could predict that more.”

Federer went on to explain what’s different about Major tournaments, that could challenge Kyrgios as a player.

“I think, you know, the Grand Slams are a true test for Nick [Kyrgios],” he said.

“Just the best of five, you know, keeping it all together for two to three weeks, it’s a long time for any player if you don’t have enough experience yet and it takes a lot of energy out of you to stay focused all the way through.

“I think he’s always a guy that can cause an upset but the Grand Slam is not about an upset.

“The Grand Slam is about winning seven matches, best of five, and that’s going to be interesting to see how he’s going to cope.”

The 20-time Major champion then gave his prediction as to which round Kyrgios would reach at the 2016 US Open.

“I predict he’s going to play something at least like a fourth round,” said Federer.

Kyrgios was yet to reach the fourth round at Flushing Meadows, winning just two matches in his three previous visits.

• 2013 – Lost in 1R to [4] David Ferrer
• 2014 – Lost in 3R to [16] Tommy Robredo
• 2015 – Lost in 1R to [3] Andy Murray

In Kyrgios’ defense, his three losses all came at the hands of seeded opponents, with his toughest defeat coming in 2015, when he fell to number three seed Andy Murray.

Did Nick Kyrgios reach the fourth round of the 2016 US Open?

Federer thought Kyrgios would enjoy a career-best performance at the US Open in 2016, but was he able to live up to those expectations?

2016 US Open 1R: Nick Kyrgios beat Aljaz Bedene, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4

Entering the tournament as the 14th seed, Kyrgios made light work of his first round opponent.

Aljaz Bedene was no match for the Aussie, as he won in straight sets, condemning the Brit to his 11th first-round Slam defeat.

2016 US Open 2R: Nick Kyrgios beat Horacio Zeballos, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4

Next up for Kyrgios was Argentine star Horacio Zeballos, who had eased past his first-round opponent, Florian Mayer in straight sets.

He was pushed in the first set, but eventually made his way through to the third round with another comfortable victory.

2016 US Open 3R: Illya Marchenko beat Nick Kyrgios, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 (RET)

Appearing on Arthur Ashe for the first time in 2016, Kyrgios took on Ukraine’s Illya Marchenko for a place in the last 16.

Federer’s prediction looked to be accurate after the first set, as the Aussie took the advantage, 6-4, before things quickly unraveled.

Despite hitting a once-in-a-lifetime drop-shot at 2-2 in the second, he went on to lose the set, 4-6.

Kyrgios’ hip flexor had bothered him during the early rounds in New York, and eventually became too much to handle, as he retired from the match after losing the third set to Marchenko, 1-6.

Federer had asked just a little too much of Kyrgios in 2016, as his Flushing Meadows struggles continued.

Kyrgios would have to wait six more years for his first fourth round appearance at the US Open, as he reached the quarter-finals in 2022.

The controversial Aussie will hope to go even better later this year, when tennis returns to the ‘Big Apple’ on August 24.

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