Wimbledon: Nick Kyrgios, the ‘outcast’, self-anointed ‘inspiration’ and now singles finalist

It
is
difficult
to
imagine
Rafael
Nadal,
Roger
Federer
or
Novak
Djokovic
coming
out
with
such
a
line
–
but
then
Nick
Kyrgios
does
not
pretend
to
be
comparable
to
any
of
those
tennis
greats.

Kyrgios’ maiden
major
singles
final
appearance
has
come
about
due
to
unprecedented
circumstances,
with
a
tear
to
Nadal’s
abdominal
muscle
making
his
opponent
the
first
to
benefit
from
a
walkover
in
a
Wimbledon
semi-final
in
the
Open
Era.

Wimbledon:
Djokovic
expecting
fireworks
in
record-breaking
grand
slam
final
with
Kyrgios

“It’s
not
the
way
I
wanted
to
get
to
the
final,”
said
Kyrgios
in
the
same
news
conference
on
Friday.

But
injuries
are
becoming
increasingly
commonplace
for
the
‘Big
Three’
–
already
trimmed
from
a
‘Big
Four’
due
to
the
fitness
woes
endured
by
Kyrgios’
great
mate
Andy
Murray.

So,
does
the
first-time
finalist
see
an
opportunity
to
step
into
that
void
at
the
forefront
of
the
sport?

“No,
no,
I
don’t,”
Kyrgios
replied.
“I
don’t
think
anyone’s
able
to
fill
those
shoes.”

He
added
with
a
grin:
“If
I
ever
win
a
grand
slam
trophy,
please
don’t
put
the
pressure
on
my
to
do
another
one.”

This
might
be
Kyrgios’ first
and
only
title
run,
but
it
is
one
he
has
waited
a
long
time
for.

Wimbledon:
Kyrgios
wishes
Nadal
well
after
receiving
semi-final
walkover

“I
saw
some
of
the
professionals
walking
around
when
I’d
be
a
junior
here,
and
I
never
thought
that
I’d
be
playing
for
the
actual
men’s
title,”
he
said.

“It’s
the
pinnacle
of
tennis.
Once
you’re
able
to
raise
a
grand
slam
trophy,
it’s
like:
what
else
is
there
to
achieve?

“I
never
thought
I’d
be
here,
and
I’m
just
super
proud
and
ready
to
go.
I’m
going
to
give
it
my
all
and
see
what
happens.”

Australia
has
waited
a
long
time,
too.
Aussies
have
won
six
Wimbledon
men’s
singles
titles
but
none
since
Lleyton
Hewitt’s
sole
success
in
2002.

Their
last
finalist
was
Mark
Philippoussis
in
2003,
beaten
by
Federer
for
his
first
championship.
By
Sunday,
6,944
days
will
have
passed
since
an
Australian
man
walked
out
for
a
singles
final
on
Centre
Court.

Wimbledon
2022:
Novak
Djokovic
defeats
Cameron
Norrie
to
set
up
summit
clash
with
Kyrgios

That
sort
of
legacy
does
not
appeal
to
Kyrgios,
though,
as
he
explained:
“The
greats
of
Australian
tennis
haven’t
been
the
nicest
to
me,
and
they
haven’t
always
been
the
most
supportive
–
they
haven’t
been
supportive
these
two
weeks.”

Hewitt
is
an
exception
–
the
Davis
Cup
captain
was
briefly
a
hitting
partner
prior
to
the
tournament
–
but
Kyrgios
considers
himself
“definitely
the
outcast
of
the
Australian
players”.

“It’s
pretty
sad,”
he
said,
describing
his
relationship
with
other
Aussie
greats
as
“weird”.
“They
have
a
sick
obsession
with
tearing
me
down.
It
sucks.”

No,
rather
than
bid
to
join
those
ranks,
Kyrgios
believes
he
is
inspiring
others
like
him.

“I
grew
up
in
Canberra,
the
courts
I
trained
on
were
horrible,
and
now
I’m
here
with
the
chance
to
play
the
Wimbledon
final,”
he
said.

“I
think
it’s
honestly
an
inspiration
for
any
kid
who’s
been
‘outcasted’
or
been
surrounded
by
negative
headlines
or
negative
clouds
or
been
brought
down
from
a
lot
of
different
angles.

“It’s
possible,
it’s
still
possible
to
achieve
something
quite
special
if
you
just
believe
in
yourself.
I
never
really
lost
belief
in
myself.”

There
have
certainly
been
no
shortage
of
negative
headlines.

Kyrgios
spat
at
a
spectator
earlier
in
the
tournament;
his
epic
third-round
win
over
Stefanos
Tsitsipas
was
one
of
the
matches
of
the
fortnight,
but
his
typically
brash
approach
to
that
encounter
was
not
widely
popular;
and
when
he
spoke
of
having
already
prepared
tactics
for
Nadal
–
a
previous
foe
–
it
was
easy
to
wonder
whether
Kyrgios
intended
to
outplay
his
opponent
or
simply
get
under
his
skin.

More
seriously,
this
week
started
with
Kyrgios
being
summoned
to
appear
before
a
court
in
Canberra
next
month
to
face
an
allegation
of
common
assault.

Those
Australian
greats
would
not
be
alone
in
responding
to
a
Kyrgios
victory
unenthusiastically,
even
if
the
Centre
Court
crowd
appear
to
have
warmed
to
him.

No
amount
of
noise
will
be
new
to
Kyrgios,
and
while
this
is
his
first
major
singles
final,
a
doubles
title
at
the
Australian
Open
provided
some
vital
preparation
for
getting
to
this
stage,
too.

“I
realised
in
Melbourne
that
it’s
a
long
time;
it’s
a
really
long
time
in
one
place,” Kyrgios
said.

He
was
ready
then
for
the
rollercoaster
of
a
grand
slam
run:
“I
beat
Paul
Jubb
7-5
in
the
fifth
set
in
my
first
round,
and
now
I’m
in
the
Wimbledon
final.
You’ve
just
got
to
ride
the
waves,
roll
with
the
punches.

“In
a
grand
slam,
you
just
don’t
know;
you
could
be
four
points
away
from
losing
the
tournament
and
then
11
days
later
you’re
in
the
final.”

There
is
undeniable
excitement
at
the
opportunity
that
lies
ahead
of
Kyrgios,
who
considers
himself
“one
of
the
most
competitive
people
I’ve
ever
met”.

But
for
once
he
will
be
able
to
see
the
bigger
picture
if
Sunday’s
match
does
not
go
his
way;
Kyrgios
is
the
first
unseeded
major
finalist
since
Jo-Wilfried
Tsonga
at
the
2008
Australian
Open
and
the
first
unseeded
Wimbledon
finalist
since
Philippoussis.

“I
just
know
whether
I
win
or
lose
on
Sunday,
I’m
going
to
be
happy,
because
it’s
just
such
a
great
achievement
that
I
never
thought
I’d
be
a
part
of
–
especially
at
27,” Kyrgios
said.

“For
me,
I
thought
it
was
the
later
stages
of
my
career;
I
just
never
thought
that
it
would
be
right
here
that
I’d
have
a
chance.”

Now
he
does
have
that
chance,
though,
he
is
determined
to
give
his
all
–
something
that
has
not
always
been
a
given
with
Kyrgios,
his
critics
might
suggest.

“Since
I’ve
been
born,
only
eight
people
have
won
this
title,
only
eight,”
he
said.
“I’m
just
going
to
give
it
my
best
shot.”