Prior to entering the Wimbledon final, the 27-year-old has never advanced beyond the quarterfinal stage in singles at a grand slam, though he was at one point in time ranked No. 13 in the world
Nick Kyrgios returns the ball to Chile’s Cristian Garin during their men’s singles quarter final tennis of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. Pic/ AFP
Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has conceded that he is feeling nervous after making it to his maiden grand slam final, adding that he had a “shocking sleep” the day he made it to the Wimbledon title round after Spanish stalwart Rafael Nadal pulled out due to an abdominal injury.
Prior to entering the Wimbledon final, the 27-year-old has never advanced beyond the quarterfinal stage in singles at a grand slam, though he was at one point in time ranked No. 13 in the world.
Kyrgios admitted ahead of the Wimbledon singles final against Novak Djokovic that he had butterflies in the stomach as he waits for the clash against the Serbian, the winner of 20 majors.
“I had a shocking sleep last night (Thursday), though, to be honest. I probably got an hour’s sleep just with everything, like the excitement. I had so much anxiety, I was already feeling so nervous, and I don’t feel nervous usually,” Kyrgios was quoted as saying by atptour.com.
“I just know there’s a lot of people that want me to do well and give my best. But I had a shocking sleep last night. Hopefully I can get some sleep tonight.
“I was just restless, so many thoughts in my head about a Wimbledon final. That’s all I was thinking about. I was thinking just playing, obviously imagining myself winning, imagining myself losing, everything,” added the mercurial player.
Kyrgios, currently ranked No. 40 in the ATP rankings, believes his experience during this year’s Australian Open, where he and Thanasi Kokkinakis clinched the doubles title, had given him some confidence.
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“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. I just feel like I kind of just take it as it comes now more so than what I used to.”
Kyrgios also wished Nadal speedy recovery, and added that he really wanted to play the Spanish stalwart in the semifinal here.
“It’s not the way I wanted to get to the final. As a competitor, I really did want that match. It was obviously something that as soon as I beat Garin, Rafa was a high possibility, someone I’ve had so many good battles with before. We’ve both taken a win against each other at this tournament. I really did want to see how the third chapter was going to go,” Kyrgios said.
“Obviously you never want to see someone like that, so important to the sport, go down with an injury like that. He’s just played so much tennis. He’s had a gruelling season. I just hope he recovers. I’m sure I’ll play him again on a big stage.”
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