LONDON — Nick Kyrgios said he felt “disappointment” when he first heard Rafael Nadal had withdrawn from their Wimbledon men’s singles semifinal, then managed only one hour of sleep on Thursday night and was “a reckless ball of energy” as he processed the news.
Nadal withdrew from their semifinal with an abdominal injury, meaning Kyrgios will contest his first-ever Grand Slam final on Sunday against either Novak Djokovic or Cameron Norrie.
Kyrgios on Friday said he was hoping for a “third chapter” after going 1-1 in two previous matches against Nadal at Wimbledon.
“My energy was so focused on playing [Nadal] and tactically how I’m going to go out there and play, the emotions of walking out there, all that type of stuff,” said Kyrgios, who said he learned of Nadal’s decision while he was eating dinner Thursday.
“But, you know, it wouldn’t have been easy for him to do that [withdraw]. … He barely lost a match this year. He wanted to probably go for all four. So it wouldn’t be easy. I hope he gets better.”
Now Kyrgios’ attention has shifted to the men’s final on Sunday, with him saying that he was “super proud” of himself and that he “never thought” he’d make a Grand Slam final.
“I had a shocking sleep last night, though, to be honest,” Kyrgios said. “I probably got an hour’s sleep just with everything, like the excitement. I had so much anxiety. I was already feeling so nervous, and I don’t feel nervous usually.
He added: “I was just restless. So many thoughts in my head about a Wimbledon final. That’s all I was thinking about. I was thinking just [about] playing, obviously imagining myself winning, imagining myself losing. Everything. … I feel like I’m just a reckless ball of energy right now. I just want to go out on the practice court now and hit some tennis balls and just talk. I don’t know. I want it to come already. Yeah, I want the final to come already.”
Before his quarterfinal match, news broke that Kyrgios was being summoned to a court in Canberra, Australia, next month to face a charge of common assault. During Wimbledon, he has been fined twice — first for spitting in the direction of a spectator after his first-round win, then again for an “audible obscenity” in the third round vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas. He overcame a shoulder injury in the fourth round.
Earlier in the tournament, he was criticized by Pat Cash for bringing “tennis to the lowest level I can see as far as gamesmanship, cheating, manipulation, abuse, aggressive behavior to…
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