3 minute read
There have been fines and thrills, spitting and spats - not to mention some bewildering brilliance - on the way to Nick Kyrgios's first Wimbledon final.
NICK KYRGIOS - ROAD TO THE WIMBLEDON FINAL
1st round: bt W-Paul Jubb (GBR) 3-6 6-1 7-5 6-7 (3-7) 7-5
(3 hours 5 minutes - 30 aces, 67 winners, break points won 5 of 6)
Not an auspicious start for an agitated, unruly Kyrgios. With the crowd fully behind the young, talented British wildcard, the Australian got embroiled in all sorts of nonsense on court 3 as it turned into a bit of cauldron. He ended up spitting towards the crowd, and came closer than at any time in the tournament to getting knocked out. Relieved simply to get through, he ended up with a $US10,000 fine, the joint-heaviest of the tournament, though many believe he was lucky to escape further punishment.
2nd round: bt 26-Filip Krajinovic (SRB) 6-2 6-3 6-1
(1 hour 25 minutes - 24 aces, 50 winners, break points won 6 out of 15)
Becalmed, concentrated and on best behaviour, in studied response to the barrage of criticism he received after the Jubb debacle, Kyrgios played near-perfect grass-court tennis to blow away a dangerous opponent who'd reached the prestigious Queen's Club final. "I didn't know what to do. Today was just unplayable with him. I've played with so many guys and I never really felt someone destroy me like that," sighed the Serb. And Kyrgios? "I just wanted to remind everyone that I'm pretty good," he said stony-faced. Consider ourselves reminded ...
3rd round: bt 4-Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) 6-7 (2-7) 6-4 6-3 7-6 (9-7)
(3 hours 17 minutes - 14 aces, 61 winners, break points won 2 out of 14)
In an ugly car-crash of a confrontation that not a soul on No.1 court could take their gaze from, brilliant tennis went hand-in-glove with inglorious mayhem, with Kyrgios berating the officials and demanding the umpire chuck out his Greek opponent for stupidly hitting the ball into the crowd. Tsitsipas won the battle of the fines - $US10,000 to $US4,000 - and the verbal war, painting Kyrgios as an evil bully, but he lost the only dog-fight that mattered after one of Wimbledon's stormiest matches.
4th round: bt Brandon Nakashima (USA) 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-2
(3 hours 11 minutes - 35 aces, 79 winners, break points won 3 out of 7)
Kyrgios found it hard work to subdue the 20-year-old American who dragged him into a final set while the Australian was feeling a niggle in his serving shoulder, but it as a victory that demonstrated some steel to go with the sparkle. From being "flat as a pancake" in the first to throwing away one game in the fourth set as a "rope-a-dope" tactic, Kyrgios reckoned he was proud of his tactical manoeuvring as he booked his first place in a grand slam quarter-final for more than seven years.
Quarter-final: bt Cristian Garin (CHI) 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7-5)
(2 hours 13 minutes - 17 aces, 35 winners, break points won 3 out of 6)
An historic day for Kyrgios, who'd hoped to be playing compatriot and friend Alex de Minaur in the quarters, but ended up having to subdue the fine-returning Chilean as he reached a slam semi for the first time. He conceded it had been "hard to focus" on tennis after news had broken on the eve of match that he had been summonsed to appear in court in Australia in relation to an allegation of common assault by his former girlfriend.
Semi-final: 2-Rafael Nadal (ESP) walkover
Learning over dinner on the eve of match that two-time champion Nadal had been forced to pull out of the eagerly-awaited third part of their Wimbledon trilogy left Kyrgios a little deflated. It wasn't the way he wanted to reach the final but after a tournament-leading 120 aces, 221 unreturned serves and 292 winners, he was in his maiden slam final.
