It’s been seven long years since Nick Kyrgios, 19, reached the second of the Grand Slam quarterfinals of his career up to that point. Between his great victories over great players and the controversy that runs everywhere, his public profile has only grown in subsequent years, but his notoriety did not correlate with greater success on the court.
This year, however, the Australian has taken a turn. He came to Wimbledon playing the best and most consistent tennis of his career and has used it to pave the way for his first Grand Slam final.
While absorbing success on Friday following Rafael Nadal’s retirement, Kyrgios cited his doubles triumph at the Australian Open alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis as a key moment in his development, teaching him the importance of stay focused on days off and properly perform mundane tasks in your spare time. .
Although he was a first-rate junior, he never imagined that he would reach a Grand Slam final: “I feel like it’s the pinnacle of tennis. When you’re able to lift a Grand Slam trophy, I mean, what else is there to achieve? So I never thought I would be here, ”he said.
Alongside the success of Kyrgios there has been worrying and disturbing news. A day after his victory in the fourth round, Canberra police confirmed he had been summoned to court on a charge of assault against his ex-girlfriend, Chiara Passari, following an alleged incident in December 2021.
After his victory in the quarterfinals against Cristian Garín, Kyrgios refused to address the subpoena, citing legal advice. August 2 is scheduled in court. You will think about it until there is a resolution.
In the final, Kyrgios will be reunited with Novak Djokovic, with whom he has maintained a turbulent relationship. In a 2019 interview with the podcast No Challenges Remaining, Kyrgios downloaded Djokovic, stating that he was obsessed with what he liked. It was a unilateral dispute, with Djokovic never publicly criticizing Kyrgios and was confused by Kyrgios’ public hostility given his previous friendly encounters.
But in January, Kyrgios supported Djokovic when he was arrested and then deported from Australia. Although Kyrgios joked that they now have “a bit of bromance”, Djokovic was less enthusiastic, but expressed his gratitude for Kyrgios’ support: “When it was very difficult for me in Australia, it was a of the few players that came out. publicly, he supported me and sided with me. That’s something I’m really grateful for. So I respect him a lot for that. ”
One of the curious aspects of this match is that Kyrgios leads the match 2-0, winning the matches in two tight sets in early 2017. After his victory in the semifinals on Friday, Djokovic made an open joke about his balance sheet losses. Kyrgios. Surely it is comforting that 2017 was a nadir, which started with him losing in the second round of the Australian Open and ended up losing the second half of the year with a major elbow injury.
Faced with one of the best comebacks the sport has seen, one of the key points of the final is whether Kyrgios can serve well enough in the best of five sets to leave Djokovic out of his service games and replicate the stifling pressure that makes about opponents. to hold. That they haven’t faced each other in five years and that they never train together is another advantage for Kyrgios, which means Djokovic will have to become familiar with Kyrgios ’service again.
Despite his reputation as a major player, Kyrgios ’third-round win over Stefanos Tsitsipas was the first over a top 10 player in a Grand Slam since he beat Milos Raonic here in 2015. Kyrgios has 3 -14 against the top 10 players in slams but 22-21 elsewhere. He has often picked the big ones in ATP matches with lower bets. This time there will also be a lot at stake and it will be interesting to see if he can control his nerves and play with the same boundless freedom.
For Djokovic, who has 20 Grand Slam titles and is ahead of Christmas 22 by two, the stakes are even higher than usual. This is his first Grand Slam final since he left Australia and he cannot play the US Open because he is not vaccinated against Covid.
Australian visitors are usually unable to apply for a visa for three years after being deported. As things stand, the next Grand Slam he can enter is the French Open in 2023. It wouldn’t hurt to win this one.