Calmer Kyrgios revels on Wimbledon’s centre stage
Nick Kyrgios stepped into a nearly full Centre Court to polite applause at precisely 1:30 p.m. on Monday (UK time), exited about 31⁄2 hours later to a louder ovation and, somehow, the 100-year-old stadium survived the experience.
In the warmup period, Kyrgios flicked a ball between his legs and closed with an underarm serve, hardly standard procedure. During the 4-6 6-4 7-6 (2) 3-6, 6-2 victory at Wimbledon over unseeded American Brandon Nakashima that followed, putting Kyrgios in a grand slam quarterfinal for the first time in 71⁄2 years, he tried those sorts of trick shots a few times. Afterward, he ditched his ruleconforming but backward, brim-bent white cap and white shoes in favour of red versions.
‘‘Because,’’ he explained when pressed about the sartorial choices, ‘‘I do what I want.’’
Yet, somehow, those seated in the Royal Box never turned their backs in protest. And, somehow, the grass-court tournament that dates to the 1880s did not grind to a halt.
Maybe that’s simply because, in addition to smacking 35 aces and ‘‘ripping the ball from the baseline’’ – to use Nakashima’s words – despite a shoulder that hurt so much he took painkilling pills and received repeated treatment from a trainer, Kyrgios displayed a much quieter, much calmer demeanour than the guy who earned fines of $10,000 for spitting in the direction of a heckling spectator at the end of his first-round match and $4000 for an audible obscenity during his tempestuous win against No 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round.
‘‘I was able to say, ‘Wow, look how far I’ve come,’ to myself. I was bouncing the ball before I served; I just smiled to myself,’’ said Kyrgios, owner of a tour-high 11 victories on grass this season. ‘‘I was like, ‘We’re here, we’re competing at Wimbledon, putting in a good performance mentally. It was rewarding.’’
The unseeded Kyrgios next faces unseeded Cristian Garin, a 26-year-old from Chile who saved a pair of match points and authored the fortnight’s first comeback from two sets down to defeat No 19 seed Alex de Minaur 2-6 5-7 7-6 (3) 6-4 7-6 (10-6) after more than 41⁄2 hours.
‘‘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.’’