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Nick Kyrgios has defeated Rafael Nadal in four sets to move through to the quarter finals at Wimbledon.
Kyrgios – a wildcard entry in the tournament – will now face Canadian Milos Raonic in the next round.
In a very impressive performance, Kyrgios started and finished the match with an ace, two of the 37 he had for the match.
FINAL SCORE:
Nick Kyrgios 7 5 7 6
Rafael Nadal 6 7 6 3
Australian Nick Kyrgios faces the biggest challenge in tennis as he battles Rafael Nadal for a quarter final spot a Wimbledon.
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Kyrgios has been one of the stories of the tournament so far. On his debut at Wimbledon, as a wildcard, he has shown experience beyond his years to progress to the fourth round.
In the opening round he won two out of three tiebreakers with Stephane Robert to defeat him in four sets.
In the second round he became a household name and the talk of Australia.
Down two sets to love against Richard Gasquet, the 13th seed, Kyrgios fought back and won an incredible match. He saved nine match points, to not only win the match, but shatter the confidence of a former semi-finalist at the All England Club.
His composure during each match point was of a player beyond his years.
Kyrgios further illustrated his calmness in his third round match against Jiri Vesely. After conceding an early break, rain stopped play in their match. The match resumed, in the late hours of Saturday Night, as Kyrgios worked his way back into things.
He conceded the first set but kept his cool in the next three sets to beat his fellow wildcard opponent. As the match went on against Vesely he was able to control the contest and come out on top. His reward for his success is a match, in the spotlight, against the world number 1.
Rafael Nadal is a tough proposition. In the last two years of tennis, 2013 and 2014, the Spaniard has lost just 14 matches.
In terms of wins, the world number one has won 116 matches. He has won 89 per cent of his matches. Nadal also has a great record against Australians.
Kyrgios will be the 12th Australian to play against Nadal. Nadal has beaten nine of them. The other two, Chris Guccione and Lleyton Hewitt, are the only ones to defeat Nadal in his career.
The last time Nadal lost to an Australian was in 2007 when Guccione won at the Sydney International after a retirement by the Spaniard.
The Spaniard is 18 wins and five losses against the Green and Gold. The match against Kyrgios will also complete the trifecta of playing Australian youngsters in the ATP world tour this year.
In Australia, at the Open, he faced both Bernard Tomic and Thanasi Kokkinakis on his way to the final. I expect Kyrgios to do better than Kokkinakis, who won just eight games in his second round loss.
While Kokkinakis will be great, he is twelve months away from doing what Kyrgios is doing right now. Kyrgios is further developed than his fellow Australian and I expect him to provide a better contest than the South Australian.
The other thing helping Kyrgios is the surface. Nadal is far better on hard and clay courts than on the grass.
At this year’s event he has conceded sets in each of his three matches. In Nadal’s history of Grand Slam tennis he has never conceded a set in his first three matches.
Wimbledon is the first time he has done that. It is clear Nadal is struggling with confidence on the surface but he is doing enough to progress. Kyrgios can win sets today, but whether he can last five sets, and win the match, remains to be seen.
The Aussie has already spent plenty of time, and energy, on the court, and he is still young in Grand Slam experience.
At some stage in the match that will play a part. Kyrgios needs to play well in two areas to provide trouble to Nadal.
The first is his serve and the second is the baseline rallies. Kyrgios, up until the start of the second week, is the leading player in the aces count at Wimbledon. This is significant given the amount of good servers left in the draw. It needs to be firing if he is any chance.
One slip, one loose serve, and Nadal will pounce. The Spaniard will only need one chance to capitalise.
The second area he needs to focus on is the baseline rallies. Kyrgios has shown in the first three rounds that he can match it with a lot of players in power and in the rallies. This needs to continue against Nadal. He needs to hit winners and dictate the play as best as he can.
If he does that, he can trouble Nadal, and put pressure on the Spaniard. He has nothing to lose, and nothing is expected of him.
But I think Nadal will still be too strong and powerful for Kyrgios in this match.
He is the world number one after all.
Kyrgios will provide him with a big contest, and at times he will surprise, but he will fall short in the end.
Nadal in four tight sets.
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