Russian winner sends ‘sarcastic’ message to New York crowd (VIDEO)

Karen Khachanov appeared to direct a thinly veiled barb at US Open fans

Russian ace Karen Khachanov was accused of taking a dig at US Open fans following his epic quarterfinal victory against Nick Kyrgios in front of a New York crowd which was overwhelmingly backing the Australian.

Khachanov booked a spot in a first-ever Grand Slam semifinal as he overcame Kyrgios in a five-set tussle at Arthur Ashe Stadium, winning 7-5 4-6 7-5 6-7(3) 6-4 in a contest which ended in the early hours of Wednesday morning at Flushing Meadows.

The Russian held his nerve against a man many had tipped as the favorite for the title after Kyrgios had blitzed defending champion and world number one Daniil Medvedev in the previous round.

READ MORE: Russian ‘warrior’ ousts US Open favorite

Kyrgios, 27, was roared on by the majority of the crowd against Khachanov as they lapped up his typically entertaining brand of tennis, although the match was again marred by some fiery outbursts as Kyrgios directed his anger towards members of his support team and obliterated several rackets – including two at the conclusion of the match.

Apparently taking note of whose side the crowd was on, Khachanov said in his on-court interview: “I did it. I did it guys. Thank you. Yeah, I mean, now you’re giving me some love, thank you guys, I appreciate it.

“Thank you. It was a crazy match. I was expecting it to be like this. I’m ready to run, to fight, to play five sets. We played again almost four hours and that’s the only way to beat Nick I think.”  

US Open MS QF: Meanwhile, I came to the match just for this from Karen Khachanov (thx tl):

"I did it. I did it guys, thank you. Now you're giving me some applause. Thank you guys, I appreciate it."