As he prepares for a first Grand Slam singles final against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, Nick Kyrgios has a new outlook and a new milestone in sight.
London, Great Britain, 9 July 2022 | Vivienne Christie
There’s the underarm serving, the familiar trick shots and the frantic energy as he moves at a rapid-fire pace between points. But if it’s the same old Nick Kyrgios contesting an eighth Wimbledon main draw at the 2022 Championships, the Australian is also a new version of himself.
“I just feel like I’m more mature. I think earlier in my career if I made a third, fourth or quarterfinals, I’d be on my phone a lot, I would be engaging online a lot, would be keen to go out to dinner and explore or just do things,” said Kyrgios as he secured his place in a first Grand Slam semifinal with victory over Cristian Garin on Wednesday.
“I think everyone has the same goal in my team. That’s why it’s working. We all know what we’ve come here to do. I made it pretty known to them that I wanted to go pretty deep here and possibly even raise the trophy.
“I feel like it’s literally just been as simple as get some rest. Like, ‘Nick, stay in the house’. That’s not always been the easiest thing for me over my career.”
It’s a change in outlook that has taken the Australian to a first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon, Kyrgios achieving the milestone when Rafael Nadal withdrew from their highly anticipated semifinal with an abdominal tear.
Nick Kyrgios has advanced to the #Wimbledon gentlemen’s singles final, with Rafael Nadal unable to compete in their semifinal due to injury https://t.co/YdZgHfq8LD
— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) July 7, 2022
If it seemed an anticlimactic progression, it was perhaps countered by the efforts Kyrgios had required to reach that point. Two of his five victories were five-set battles, with his third-round match with No.4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas extending to four tense sets.
Occurring in Kyrgios’ 30th main draw campaign at a Grand Slam, a final breakthrough was in many ways an unlikely feat. At age 27 and ranked world No.40, the unseeded Kyrgios’ previous-best result at Wimbledon was a 2014 quarterfinal. He’s progressed beyond the third round only twice since.
“I never thought that I would be here. The ship, I thought, was gone,” Kyrgios admitted after his quarterfinal win. “To be a semifinalist at Wimbledon, it’s a special accomplishment for everyone, but I…
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