On Wimbledon’s centre stage

‘‘I understand how it’s mixed reviews. People just love to just have an opinion.’’

Nick Kyrgios

The other quarterfinal on their half of the draw will be 22-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal against No 11 Taylor Fritz. Nadal got past No 21 seed Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4 6-2 7-6 (6), while Fritz, a 24-year-old American, earned his major quarterfinal debut with a 6-3 6-1 6-4 win over Jason Kubler.

Kubler, who also is Australian, offered his take on Kyrgios.

‘‘Every time I see him, he’s smiling. Every time I’m around him, it seems like I’m laughing,’’ Kubler said. ‘‘So it’s kind of weird when I read or see the comments about him, knowing him the way I do. He’s just one of those people if you were to hang around him or spend any sort of quality time with him, you’d fall in love with him.’’

The women’s quarterfinals established yesterday were 2019 champion Simona Halep versus No 20 Amanda Anisimova, and No 17 Elena Rybakina against unseeded Ajla Tomljanovic.

‘‘I didn’t really think I could do it,’’ said Tomljanovic, who lost to eventual champion Ash Barty in last year’s quarterfinals. ‘‘After some tough moments this year, I thought: Am I ever going to get a chance again? I can’t believe a year later, I’m in the same position.’’

For Kyrgios, never one to follow a conventional path, it’s been a much longer road.

His two previous slam quarterfinals came at age 19 — at Wimbledon in 2014 and the Australian Open in 2015.

The Aussie spoke about feeling like a veteran at 27, and his selfdescription included ‘‘composed’’ and ‘‘mature’’.

Not terms generally associated with Kyrgios, but then again, as he told reporters at his news conference: ‘‘None of you really know me at all. Like, you don’t hang out with me at all. You only kind of see what you see on the court.

‘‘It’s always been a bit of a roller coaster. So I understand how it’s mixed reviews. People just love to just have an opinion.’’

Making the case that he’s a changed man, Kyrgios thought back to a second-round loss to Nadal at Centre Court in 2019 and recalled: ‘‘My agent had to come get me out of a pub at 4am. I’ve come a long way, that’s for sure.’’