For all the drama that forever surrounds Nick Kyrgios, there is one undeniable constant from his season so far – his tennis. At ease, Kyrgios is playing the best tennis of his life, and although he’s competed sparingly, almost every time he’s taken the court this year, his level has been high. As a result, he put himself in position for a deep Grand Slam run that has eluded him thus far in his career.
But it’s definitely hard to just talk about tennis with all the drama that surrounds it. In a contest that lived up to all expectations, going from compelling, quality tennis to farcical, unadulterated chaos, Kyrgios dug deep into the psyche of Stefanos Tsitsipas and eventually emerged victorious, defeating Tsitsipas 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6 -3 7-6 (7) to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon.
After a week of discussions about empty seats and low attendances around the grounds, this was certainly not such an example. Before the match started, all the seats were taken and lines of fans surrounded the stadium as it seemed everyone on the ground was trying to attend the biggest match of the tournament so far.
Throughout the first set, Kyrgios was clearly the better player, going through his own service games while putting Tsitsipas under immense pressure on his own. But Tsitsipas saved every break point, he kept his head down and focused only on himself, refusing to be distracted. When Kyrgios double-faulted at 1-1 in the tiebreak, Tsitsipas was ready to take the set.
Stefanos Tsitsipas talks to the referee during the match. Photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
It’s fair to say that the peace and quiet didn’t last very long. During the match, Kyrgios did what he often does. He argued with the ref about the line calls. He called people he disagreed with stupid. The lines kept reporting his comments to the referee. But his tennis was fine too – he took the second set with a moment of genius, deflecting Tsitsipas’s forehand winner.
As that set slipped away from him, Tsitsipas finally erupted. He sent a backhand into the lower part of the audience, just below his player’s penalty area, and was very lucky not to hit anyone. Angered that Tsitsipas only received a code violation, Kyrgios spent the time before the start of the third set loudly shouting at the umpire, the supervisor and anyone who would listen, trying to get Tsitsipas out of the match. “You can’t hit a ball into the crowd and hit somebody without getting timed out,” he said. As Kyrgios unloaded from the supervisor, Tsitsipas told the referee his opponent had “zero respect”.
Toxicity threatened to ruin the match, but the tennis made it anyway
With the match level and Kyrgios completely in his head, Tsitsipas only sank further into madness. At 3-1, 40-0 Kyrgios threw an underarm serve to which Tsitsipas responded by sprinting to the ball and slamming it into the back fence. As Kyrgios smiled, Tsitsipas was given a code violation and penalty point. Later in the set, Tsitsipas hit the ball as hard as he could towards Kyrgios, who was standing helpless at the net, narrowly missing him.
Toxicity threatened to ruin the match, but the tennis made it anyway. After looking like he was mentally out of the match, Tsitsipas recovered admirably to save four break points in the first game of the fourth set before continuing to press Kyrgios on serve. With his back against the wall in the set, Kyrgios was red-hot himself, holding on spectacularly after trailing 0-40 at 3-4. Deep into the fourth set tiebreak, he was completely unnerved. He destroyed a flurry of forehands to bring up match point, then finished with a delicate drop shot.
A quick guide
How do I sign up for breaking sports news alerts?
show
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or from the Google Play Store on Android phones by searching for “The Guardian”.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re using the latest version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the yellow button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sports notifications.
Thank you for your feedback.
Beyond the drama, the bottom line is clear. Kyrgios was playing the best tennis of his life and walked away with a monumental victory that provided him with one of the biggest opportunities of his career. Kyrgios will now face Brandon Nakashima for a place in his first Wimbledon quarter-final since his 2014 layoff.
The highest seed left in his part of the draw is Alex De Minaur, the 19th seed, and none of the other players there have reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam. Kyrgios is definitely the favourite. Such opportunities for a deep Wimbledon run don’t come around often, and it remains to be seen whether he will continue this progress or if the chaos he creates will eventually engulf him as well.
Add Comment