NICK KYRGIOS
Nick Kyrgios is a very lucky man.
Not because Friday’s (July 8) Center Court Wimbledon scheduled Semi-final against Rafa Nadal has been officially designated a ‘Walkover.’
Seems that Nadal tore an abdominal muscle, forcing him to withdraw from the legendary All England Club’s Strawberries and Cream gala.
The 22-time Major champion won both the Australian Open and the French Open earlier this year, putting him on pace to achieve a calendar Grand Slam.
No more.
Wednesday (July 6) Nadal outlasted American Taylor Fritz in 5 sets but needed a trainer’s assistance for his injury in the second set.
After practicing for forty-five minutes on Thursday, hitting backhands and forehands with little trouble, he tried to serve.
He realized he couldn’t serve at full strength.
“I think it’s obvious that if I keep going the injury is gonna be worse and worse, and that’s the thing that I can say now.
I feel very sad to say that,” he lamented at a press conference.
And I, to hear it.
Australian Kyrgios, a marvelous talent, will be playing in his first Grand Slam Final, facing the winner of top-seeded Novak Djokovic and Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the tournament’s other Men’s Semi-final.
[Spoiler: Djokovic prevailed 2–6; 6–3; 6–2; 6–4].
Nadal is a warrior.
So is Kyrgios, in a manner of speaking.
But it’s different.
Nadal has an enormously high pain tolerance; he’s played through numerous injuries for years (foot, knee, ribs, wrist) which have been debilitating, to say the least.
Kyrgios is a pain.
In the neck.
And in the arse.
He’s a controversial combatant.
A player whose matches have featured “epic displays of ranting, racquet-wrecking, and trash talking,” according to Louisa Thomas of The New Yorker in July of 2017.
As a 22-year-old then–ranked 20th in the world–he became the only active player ever to defeat Roger Federer, Nadal and Djokovic in their first meetings.
He has beaten Nadal and Djokovic twice; and came within a few points of a second victory over Federer earlier in 2017.
Mercurial?
Yup.
Jon Wertheim, the Executive Editor of Sports Illustrated, once described him as “tennis’ id”.
Id:
Noun PSYCHOANALYSIS
the part of the mind in which innate instinctive impulses and primary processes are manifest.
“the conflict between the drives of the id and the demands of the cultural superego”
Here’s the deal:
If Nick Kyrgios can get out of his own way, he can fulfill his bottom-line goal.
“I just would like to be happy,” he has said.
“That’s a tough one for me.”
If he exercises a little patience on Sunday (July 10), he could end up being very happy.
[Editor’s Note: This piece was written by Mr. Kaplan in July 2022.]
