So spare a thought for
Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios, who came face to face with one of
tennis' all-time greats, and a man he so greatly admired growing up on
the courts of Canberra, Australia.
To meet tennis world
number one Rafael Nadal on the court at Wimbledon in his first
appearance there, and to not only triumph, but to do so with an
assortment of tricks, including an opening ace and an audacious
between-the-legs flick that left the Spanish great dumbfounded, counts
as a memorable introduction.
"Never did I think a week
ago I was going to make the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in my first
appearance," the wild-card entry, ranked 144 in the world, said in a
press conference after taking this famous scalp.
Heightened expectations
Until his win over Nadal,
he was likely content to experience the tournament, play his Xbox --
which he brought with him from Australia -- and hang out with his father
and sister, who accompanied him to London. He said he'd text his mother
a smiley face after the press event ended. Now, expectations are
somewhat heightened.
On court, Kyrgios carries
himself confidence and verve that belies his 19 years of age, as his
unorthodox, Nadal-stumping shot clearly demonstrated. After besting the
five-time finalist over four sets, the world has been alerted to
Australian tennis' worst-kept secret, a serial winner -- and world
junior number 1 -- at youth level who is taking his senior career in his
stride.
Many are tipping the right-handed, attacking baseliner as a future great of the game.
It's not an Aussie
fairytale without precedent, however. In 1996, at another Grand Slam
event, a young Mark Philippoussis -- an Australian who also boasts Greek
heritage -- knocked out then-number 1 Pete Sampras to reach the fourth
round.
"That's what it reminded
me of, where (Kyrgios) just didn't go away -- he kept going for the
shots and kept coming up with the goods," Australian great Pat Cash told
the Sydney Morning Herald. "It was extremely impressive. It was amazing. It was almost faultless."
He started playing at
six, and his background -- Greek-Australian on his father's side and
Malaysian on his mother's -- is emblematic of multicultural, modern
Australia, and currently divides his time between his hometown of
Canberra and Melbourne, the spiritual home of Australian tennis.
He's at home on grass --
something that cannot necessarily be said for his erstwhile opponent,
who has endured a torrid time at Wimbledon in recent years.
Becker comparison
After his phenomenal win
over Nadal, comparisons are plenty, given the number of precocious
talents who have graced Centre Court. But perhaps the most flattering is
with the great Boris Becker, who as an unsmiling Teutonic 17-year old
beat the South African Kevin Curren in the 1985 final, the first of his
three Wimbledon titles.
"We keep saying 'who's
the next guy?' and I think that we've found that guy,'' former Wimbledon
champion and current commentator John McEnroe told the BBC. "It was absolutely stunning, what he did to the world number 1.
"He absolutely believed
that he was going to win this match, and he's acting, to me, like he can
win this tournament. The last guy I saw like this... is Boris Becker.
That young teenager, no fear whatsoever, no matter what comes my way I'm
going to be better than them.''
And if his tweets are
anything to go by, Kyrgios doesn't seem the least bit fazed. "Have to do
it all again tomorrow and I can't wait! First @Wimbledon & I'm in
the last 8 club!!" he tweeted out following his famous victory.
Kyrgios next faces the Canadian, Milos Raonic, in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
He has a couple more
unlikely victories to chalk up along the way, but if everything falls
right for the Australian teen, he might well be tearing down another
idol, Roger Federer, in the final.
Source:CNN
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