Venue: All England Club Dates: June 27 to July 10. Coverage: live on BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, connected TVs and mobile app.
Nick Kyrgios says “so many people will be upset” because he has reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals, but says it’s a “good feeling” to silence his critics.
His entertaining SW19 career continued as he avoided a shoulder injury to beat American Brandon Nakashima 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-2 and reach his first important quarterfinal in seven years.
In the round of 16 is Rafael Nadal, who continued his bet on a Grand Slam of the calendar with a 6-4 6-2 7-6 (8-6) victory over Botic van de Zandschulp.
Kyrgios was more temperamental than in his fiery match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, and remained largely calm as he set up a meeting with Chilean Cristian Garin.
The 27-year-old Australian maintained his focus on a disciplined display and put his success at the All England Club in improving his off-track habits.
“There was a time when I had to be forced out of a pub at 4am to play [Rafael] Christmas, ”said Kyrgios, who ranks 40th in the world.
“My agent had to pick me up before I played my game on the center court [at] Wimbledon. I’ve come a long way, that’s for sure. “
Non-seed Garin, 26, avoided a clash between all Australians by fighting from two sets down – and saving two match points in the fifth – to beat 19th seed Alex de Minaur.
World No. 43, most clay court specialist, reached his first major quarterfinal with a 2-6 5-7 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 7-6 (10-6) victory .
Kyrgios looks at a glass of wine after demanding victory
Nick Kyrgios will play his first Grand Slam quarter-final since the 2015 Australian Open after beating Brandon Nakashima
All eyes were on Kyrgios again after their explosive third-round match against Greek fourth-seeded Tsitsipas, which became one of the most important points of discussion at this year’s championships after containing so much. drama.
Although the match against Nakashima on the center court didn’t have the Saturday night fireworks on track 1, it was an absorbing slow burn.
Rest opportunities were rare as the pair dominated their service games, and the problem of Kyrgios injuries made a match with fluctuating changes even more difficult.
After a hard-fought victory with his first game point, he said, “I need a big glass of wine tonight for sure.”
On how he managed to fight Nakashima, a 20-year-old added, “It wasn’t very close to my best level of performance, but I’m very happy to get over it and I’ve fought really hard.
“I’ve been playing a lot of tennis for the last month and a half and I’m proud of the way I stabilized the boat.”
Kyrgios reached his first Wimbledon quarter-finals since 2014 when, as a 19-year-old wildcard, he surprised then-world number one Rafael Nadal.
In 2015 he followed another race to the round of 16 of the Australian Open, but so far he has not been able to return to the same stage.
“Sitting here in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, feeling good, feeling composed, feeling mature, having good people around me, I’m very blessed,” Kyrgios said.
“I feel like I’m comfortable with my own skin.”
He said he “doesn’t care” about the criticism he received after Tsitsipas’ match – a clash that led to the two players being fined for their behavior – and that he only laughed at it.
“I have a huge chip on my shoulder. Like I’m sitting here now in the Wimbledon quarterfinals again, and I just know there are so many people who are so upset,” he said with a smile.
Kyrgios is now able to mentally deal with problems
Ticket office? Bad example? Fans were divided by Nick Kyrgios’ behavior
While people regularly discuss their mentality when debating why a player of this talent hasn’t won more titles, injuries are another factor that has slowed Kyrgios ’progress over the past few years.
The physical problems again stood out for the Australian, who retired from the Mallorca Open last month due to an abdominal injury, at the end of the first set against Nakashima.
“I woke up after playing Tsitsipas and had some shoulder pain,” he said.
“I almost knew it was time for my body to start feeling some discomfort. I think that’s normal. At this point in the event I don’t think anyone is feeling 100%.
“Mentally I feel like I deal with these things a lot better now.”
In an even first goal, neither player scored the other’s serve until Kyrgios, who seemed to be affected by the problem, suddenly struggled with his returns and the American took the lead.
At the start of the second set he continued to grimace and tried to loosen the affected shoulder between points.
However, he broke down in the third game, aided by a double foul and Nakashima collapsed, before asking the physiotherapist to change.
After taking painkillers and receiving regular treatment, he managed to move on to a two-set lead to one as the match progressed at a fast pace.
Another turn came when Kyrgios lost his way in the fourth set, which he said was a “rope tactic against drugs.”
Kyrgios closed out the last game as he came back casually – and even served in the armpits in Nakashima’s first seven-point set, which he still won – but settled for running away with the decisive one.
“I just threw that service game. I knew I was in a rhythm. I was starting to get over myself,” Kyrgios said.
“I wanted to throw it a little. It worked.”
Christmas continues with the Slam calendar offer
Nadal has been playing his first Wimbledon since 2019 and the first since he received radiofrequency ablation treatment on his chronic foot injury to soothe long-term nerve pain.
The Spaniard, aiming to win a third Wimbledon title, took control of the match during the first two sets, saving the only breaking point he faced on the way to taking the lead.
However, he hesitated when he served for the match, broke the 5-3 after a messy match and was finally forced into a tie-break by the Dutchman.
Nadal missed three 6-3 game points ahead in the breaker before finally making his fourth in a top 25 of world number Van de Zandschulp.
“I think I continued in a positive way until the end where I played a bad game,” Nadal said.
“Personally, for me being able to be in the quarterfinals after three years is amazing for me, so I’m very, very happy.”
He will then face Taylor Fritz after the American reached a major first quarter final with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Australian Jordan Thompson.