The Australian leads the head-to-head 2-0 but his record against top 10 players in best-of-five-set matches is alarmingIt has been seven long years since a 19-year-old Nick Kyrgios reached the second of his two career grand slam quarter-finals up to that point. Between his big wins over big players and the controversy he courts everywhere he goes, his public profile has only grown in the years since but his notoriety did not correlate with greater success on the court.This year, though, the Australian has turned a corner. He arrived at Wimbledon playing the best, most consistent tennis of his career and has used it to blaze a trail into his first grand slam final. Continue reading...
Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal through injury is sad for him and us, but even Taylor Fritz agrees there is no place for ‘handouts’When Rafael Nadal announced on Thursday evening he would not be able to play Friday’s semi-final against Nick Kyrgios because of injury, it prompted a variety of feelings, from sadness for Nadal himself to disappointment that Wimbledon fans will be denied a great showpiece semi-final.Nadal’s withdrawal because of an abdominal tear means Kyrgios gets a free pass through to his first grand slam singles final, giving him an extra couple of days of recovery before he plays either the six-time champion Novak Djokovic or Britain’s Cameron Norrie for the title. Continue reading...
What is the plan, the protocol, the policy when allegations about athletes are aired? The ATP is one governing body that must do betterSo much for the good times. The show will go on for Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon, starting on Wednesday with a quarter-final against Cristian Garin, the first of three hypothetical steps towards a long-shot first grand slam title win. But for now the party, the bunting, the King Nick buzz, is over.Sport loves to spin these stories. Over the past 10 days Kyrgios had seemed to be turning into one of the English summer’s chief objects of fascination, a brilliant, charismatic tennis player; albeit a brilliant, charismatic tennis player with some obvious deference issues, clothing issues, politeness...
Australian remains box office but he let his tennis do the talking in a controlled fourth-round victory on Centre CourtJust when you think you know someone, that’s when they go and let you down. On a balmy afternoon in front of a fond, even – whisper it – quietly adoring Centre Court crowd, Nick Kyrgios confirmed his own mercurial nature, his basic inconsistency by remaining controlled, rigidly polite and an all-round model pro and steady guy throughout this fourth-round win against Brandon Nakashima.In victory Kyrgios was gushingly courteous towards his 20-year-old opponent. He paid tribute to his girlfriend (“the best girlfriend in the world”), referenced his many friends in tennis and namechecked his many excellent conversations with “Andy”. He even...
The BBC must be thrilled when the motors overhead start whirring but the tournament has become a late event by stealthWe have learned a lot about Wimbledon in this centenary celebration of the club’s fabled Centre Court, scene of probably more 20th-century sporting drama than any single arena outside Madison Square Garden.The tennis, generally, has been dependably sublime, hitting repeated peaks. The commentary has swung between ooh-aah Iga, ta-ra, and, bloody hell, Nick’s at it again. McEnroe has gone from grey to white, and Sue’s face might yet crack entirely while smiling at his old jokes in her farewell fortnight. Billie Jean has been an enduring Queen. And the weather has … not been awful. Continue reading...