“Yeah, that sucked” – Kyrgios rues missing out on Grand Slam title in 2022
Nick Kyrgios believes if he had won Wimbledon in 2022, the narrative around him would have changed
Image Credit: Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic
In his most recent episode of ‘Good Trouble’, Nick Kyrgios made a surprising revelation.
The Australian was chatting with renowned tennis coach and UTS founder Patrick Mouratoglou, and the conversation drifted to how a few points can define a tennis match.
Mouratoglou shared that often, a contest is decided by two points, and yet it shifts the entire narrative of a match. Win those two points, and you’re incredible, disciplined, skillful; lose, and you’re unfit, rusty, not motivated.
Building on that sentiment, Kyrgios revealed how dearly he would have liked things to have unfolded differently in 2022.
Kyrgios reflects on what could have been at Wimbledon
Kyrgios had made a career-best run at Wimbledon, charging his way into the final match of the Grand Slam. En route, he had produced some brilliant tennis, ousting No 5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and world No 43 Cristian Garin, before receiving a walkover against Rafael Nadal.
In the final, the Aussie faced Novak Djokovic, and he ran the Serbian perilously close. Kyrgios took a set from the world No 1, pushing him to a tiebreak in another as he lost 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3).
“In that Wimbledon final with Novak, back in 2022,” Kyrgios asked Mouratoglou. “You said two points can change a match. Do you think if I had won that, the whole narrative would have changed on this?”
“For sure, you would be a Grand Slam winner,” Mouratoglou responded passionately. “No one would say you are wasting your talent. And we’re just talking about one match.”
“I knew that everything would change,” reflected Kyrgios. “That’s crazy, because you know, I was only a set and a half away from winning, and becoming tennis immortality. You win a Grand Slam, no-one cares about what you do any more.”
“Yeah, that sucked. I would have loved to have been sitting here as a Grand Slam champion.”
