An audacious under-arm ace and the second-fastest serve in tennis history haven’t been enough to spare Nick Kyrgios from a drama-charged second-round Wimbledon loss to Rafael Nadal.
In a gripping encounter that exceeded all the hype, Nadal avenged his stunning defeat to Kyrgios on the sport’s most hallowed court five years ago with a pulsating four-set triumph on Thursday.
Living up to its grudge-match-of-the year status, Nadal resisted the volatile Australian’s spirited challenge with a 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3) victory in a three-hour-and-three-minute classic.
A series of verbal jousts between the two, chiefly Kyrgios’s taunting of the “super salty” Spaniard and Nadal’s “idiot” Uncle Toni in an explosive podcast, had dominated the build-up.
But such tasty barbs served as merely the appetiser to a spicy main course that had Wimbledon’s centre court crowd – and the umpire – on the edge of their seats.
Raging after losing a challenge on his first serve in the eighth game, Kyrgios promptly smashed down an unstoppable, untouchable second serve clocked at 143mph (230kph).
Only Ivo Karlovic’s 144mph (232kph) effort at the 2007 Legg Mason Classic has ever topped Kyrgios’s rocket serve, according to ATP statistics.
The sport’s most unpredictable talent quickly followed up with his under-arm ace, which brought a smile from even the fiercely intense Nadal.
Wimbledon’s famously conservative fans had never seen anything like it, and the daring tactic appeared to briefly unsettle Nadal.
The world No.2 uncharacteristically sliced a backhand long on the very next point and, although he held to take the opening set, Nadal dropped serve for the first time two games later.
Re-energised, Kyrgios charged to a 4-1 advantage only to be broken to love and then engage in an animated exchange with the chair umpire.
Upset at Nadal’s notorious go-slow antics, Kyrgios demanded French official Damien Dumusois enforced the shot clock on the 18-times grand slam champion.
When he did, an unimpressed Nadal immediately dropped serve as Kyrgios levelled the blockbuster up at one set apiece.
Not content with Dumusois’s intervention, Kyrgios walked a fine line when he branded the umpire a “disgrace” midway through the third set.
Kyrgios then riled Nadal when he speared a forehand into the advancing Spaniard’s midriff.
It was the second time in the match Kyrgios had taken aim at his opponent.
“It certainly wasn’t a passing shot, was it? He had time for a passing shot and he went for the head,” Australian commentator Todd Woodbridge said on BBC TV.
Nadal whipped the crowd into a frenzy when he celebrated winning the vital third-set tiebreaker.
The two-time champion was plain delirious when he finally subdued Kyrgios, who thundered down 29 aces, after another breaker to book to a last-16 meeting on Saturday with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
“He was a tough opponent. When he wants to compete, he’s one of the toughest opponents you can face,” Nadal said.
“It was an important victory for me. Sometimes it’s tough to see a couple of things on court.
“It’s amazing how good he is able to play, so if he is able to forget all these things, he’s potentially a grand slam winner.”
tsuru
Roar Rookie
I'm going to make this comment, although I hope it doesn't eventuate. I wonder if Kyrgios might be happier playing the Mansour Bahrami role in tennis. Or joining Bahrami and Fabrice Santoro to tour and entertain during major tournaments with a display of trick shots. At the moment it could be argued that his approach is more suited to this than trying to win major (or minor) tournaments. I say I hope this doesn't really happen because the man clearly has more ball striking talent, and particularly a better serve, than almost anyone playing. And he showed against Rafa that he is able to play at the highest level when he is motivated. I watched the match and I believe the difference ultimately was Rafa's ability to choose the right shot when it got tight in the tie-breaker. Kyrgios played a drop-shot in one of the tie-breakers that just wasn't on and seemed like a mental bail-out. He just seemed a bit too impatient under pressure. As for his behaviour, I think he is now suffering from the confirmation bias of a lot of observers. They believe he'll misbehave worse than anybody else and seize on any of his "eruptions" to illustrate their point when his "eruptions" are no worse than those of others. Yes, he's crossed the line in the past - a few times - but I don't think this match was one of those occasions.
Sideline Eye
Guest
Thank you Rafa. You have made a lot of people happy. NICK OFF Kyrgios.
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
Kyrgios is the Anthony Mundine of tennis. Aussie sports fans are traditionally very patriotic however there are many who take immense delight in him making a fool of himself then losing. I am one of them. NICK OFF!
Over here
Roar Rookie
Good on you Nick for proving to the world that they are correct about your career. I knew you could do it and although its taken a few years to do it, you've proven it again today. The tennis greats have a coach, but you don't cos you want to do it your way. Good on you man. The tennis greats concentrate about winning when they are on the court, but you don't because you want to do it your way. Good on you man. Champions are applauded and adored because they play to the best of their ability, but you don't want that because you want to do it your way. Good on you man. OK, enough, can you see where I'm trying to go with this? You're a tosser Nick and a disgrace. I feel ashamed to be Australian when I watch you on the court and last night was no different. You proved a lot last night: 1. You need a coach that you respect but you don't want a "yes Nick" type of coach who will say the nice things to you just to stay on the payroll. 2. You need a reality check. So many greats have tried to steer you down the right path and Rafa even tried again after the match. 3. You need to learn about self discipline. Try meditation. Block out all the bad stuff and concentrate on the finish line and stay on that path during your matches. Everyone gets bad calls etc during a match. You have a reputation now and some of the public, officials and other players will try to upset you. But stay on the path if you want to get to the finish line in front. 4. Forget about trying to be the entertainer and concentrate on using that your talent to improve. Who knows, one day I and the rest of the Australian sporting public might actually be proud of you and you might become the tennis great that we know you can become. One day you might be remembered for your spectacular tennis talent instead of your spectacularly bad sportsmanship and behaviour on the court. One day we, the Australian sporting public mightn't cringe when we hear your name mentioned. Leave that role to Bernard Tomic.