Dr Nick and Mr Kyrgios: ready to take his place in Wimbledon history

The mercurial Australian has shown an unpleasant side of his personality at Wimbledon this fortnight – but also his great gifts

Australia’s Nick Kyrgios ahead of practice (AI/Reuters/Panoramic)

Carrie Dunn

July 9, 2022

Who will arrive on Centre Court to face Novak Djokovic for the Wimbledon title on Sunday?

Will it be Dr Nick? That’s the focused, intense, gifted tennis player, making shots of such brilliance you can’t help but stand and applaud. He was there on court against Brandon Nakashima in the round of 16 and Cristian Garin in the quarter-final, demonstrating just why he feels that this might be his best chance to win a Grand Slam.

Or will it be Mr Kyrgios? Everyone is familiar with him – he made himself known extremely loudly against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round. He’s the one who shouts at umpires and line judges, who picks fights with spectators, and voices unedifying criticisms of his opponents.

Nevertheless, for the first time in his career, during the latter stages of Wimbledon, we have started to see some of that potential that Nick Kyrgios has left unfulfilled for so long. He has remained determined over the two weeks of competition, rather than getting distracted or bored – and he thinks his experience of winning the men’s doubles in Australia alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis has helped.

“I felt like just the kind of mundane – you win a match, you have a day off, you practise, you go again over a two-week period – I realized in Melbourne it’s a long time,” he said on Friday at Wimbledon. “Like, it’s a really long time in one place. You can’t explore, you can’t really go to the city here. You can’t enjoy your time as much as you would like to. You kind of have to stay in your house, be reserved, take your mind off things.”

Kyrgios – Rest isn’t a bad thing

Not only has he accepted that, he’s appreciated the value of that – the repetition of practice then rest is required to be a champion.

“I felt like earlier in my career, I didn’t realize that these days off and the practice is so crucial. Like, it’s just like, I beat Paul Jubb 7-5 in the fifth set in my first round, and now I’m in the Wimbledon final.

“You just have to ride the waves, roll with the punches in a Grand Slam. Like, you just don’t know. You really don’t know. You could be four points away from losing the tournament, then 11 days later you’re in the final, so…I just feel like I kind of just take it as it comes now more so than what I used to.”

That routine of work, rest, repeat has been disrupted due to his lack of semi-final after Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal through injury, and Kyrgios acknowledged that it could throw him off course – but he was attempting to minimise it and stick to the timetable that had worked for him so far.

“Obviously at a Grand Slam you want to have those matches…the competitive juices, you want to have those going, the adrenaline,” he said. “That’s just something that I’m going to have to go into the final without that semi-final kind of experience.

“But that’s okay. I’m going to take every positive. I get to rest my body a little bit. It’s not bad going in there feeling fresh.”

Kyrgios – I never thought I’d be here

A Kyrgios who accepts a less-than-optimal twist of fate with equanimity must surely be a changed Kyrgios. He was always competitive, but he always claimed to be playing only for himself, dismissing any fondness for tennis, and saying he wished he had been able to be a professional basketball player instead. That line of argument has hushed. He seems also to now appreciate that he owes something to his fans and to tennis more broadly, which have created some butterflies of anxiety. It isn’t just about himself or that moment – it’s about a snapshot in history, and how he will be remembered, and that has finally clicked.

“The one thing for sure, whether I win or lose on Sunday, I’m going to be happy,” he added. “It’s such a great achievement that I thought I’d never be a part of. Especially at 27, I feel this is, like, for me, I thought it was the later stages of my career. But I just never thought it would be right here.

“I have a chance.”