Nick Kyrgios has been accused of being soft as the Australian tennis star returned to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the first time since his All England Club debut.
The 27-year-old survived a tangled five-set match against rising American Brandon Nakashima, where he eventually prevailed 6-2 in the fifth.
He then clashed with a journalist during his press conference, after causing a stir with his attire.
But in the stages on the center court it looked like a boil was brewing as Kyrgios came out of the blocks slowly and Tim Henman described him as “as flat as a pancake” after losing the first set 6-4.
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Nick Kyrgios holds his shoulder against Brandon Nakashima during his five-set victory during the fourth round of Wimbledon. Photo: Getty Images Source: Getty Images
Kyrgios took the next two sets on tight issues, before falling to fourth in ugly circumstances where he lost his last two service games.
This led Todd Woodbridge to accuse Kyrgios of shutting down.
“That’s a lot of Nick’s nonsense here because it’s another gifted point,” Woodbridge said in a comment to Nine.
“He has to keep serving, use Nakashima, wonder if he can serve, but serving first to fifth is very important.
“Why would you close this game? That’s what this game is right now, you’re throwing this game to see what can happen at the start of the fifth.
“We don’t quite understand it with Nick, but dropping this game has given Nakashima an advantage in the fifth set by virtue of serving first.”
Kyrgios later explained that he used “rope against drugs” tactics to try to change the momentum of the game.
Australian Nick Kyrgios at The All England Tennis Club at Wimbledon on July 4, 2022. Photo AFPSfont: AFP
“It was a little unusual, because most of the players said okay, I’ll hold on tight, I’ll use it, which is always a difficult game, and even if I lose, I’ll serve first. In the fifth,” he said. the great Australian tennis player Wally Masur to Stan.
“But Nick, by his own admission – he called it rope-a-dope – felt that at that moment, Nakashima had the impetus and had to do something to shake it. And it worked.
“The end of a set is always a punctuation mark, there is always a small change of momentum in any case. Just considering the nature of this game, I skipped it in the early fifth, it worked a delight. “
He added: “Andre Agassi did a lot. He would be losing a break, 3-1, before he knew it was 6-1, and then only turn them on in the next game.
“If it’s a point here or there, it’s tennis, it can happen. You wouldn’t want to see him sustained during a series of games.
Basically, Nick Kyrgios gave up 3-5 in the fourth set, hitting this seven-point ball off the court. Source: FOX SPORTS
It came after the Australian appeared with severe discomfort with his right shoulder.
He first showed signs of discomfort at the end of the first set, before ordering painkillers in the second.
He was given shoulder treatment regularly throughout the match.
But at the end of the first, having shown nothing of the struggle and intensity he showed during his epic third-round victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas, they wondered if Kyrgios was ready for the fight and strong enough to fight pain.
“What fascinates me about Nick’s psyche, his mentality, is this opportunity today to go to the quarterfinals with a very winable draw in the next game and potentially, if you look ahead, maybe he’s a Rafa in the semifinals.” Woodbridge said at the end of the first set.
“We know that Tim (Henman), you’ve been in this situation, like your feet, not some great feet I have to tell you; Lleyton Hewitt, I saw him play a game with his toe almost falling off, underwent massive surgery after that; Rafa wins the Frenchman with such a painful foot problem, but you never proved that there was something wrong with you.
“This, for me, could be overcoming this match without the world knowing that the shoulder is a problem.
“Then you go in and do the work, you do the physiotherapist, in two days maybe you’ll be fine again.”
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Australian Nick Kyrgios receives medical treatment during his men’s singles round of 16 match against American Brandon Nakashima. Photo: AFPFont: AFP
Henman, who is one of the most respected tennis players of the modern era, responded by saying that Kyrgios seemed to be struggling with the change in expectation.
“People treat these things very, very differently,” he said.
“Obviously there’s a physical problem if you feel your shoulder hurt a little bit, but I think it’s also the mental side of things.
“It can be psychosomatic, this kind of environment, the players always talk about not looking too far ahead, but they are absolutely aware of everything that is happening with this draw and I think that is part of Kyrgios’ challenge today.
“He knows this is a great opportunity, he played a great game to beat Tsitsipas, who is one of the top five players, he is now against Nakashima, it is a game he could win, he should win.”
Kyrgios paid tribute to his own fighting qualities, saying he was “mentally” strong.
He also downplayed his shoulder injury, simply saying he had to play a lot.
“I’ve played a lot of tennis in the last month and a half,” he said on the court.