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Nick Kyrgios- The Teen Sensation
How does it feel when the tables are turned upon oneself? Not in a bad way, but in a ‘this-is-the-start-of-the-rise-of-the-future’ kind of way? Rafael Nadal should know. For he was the last man – the last teenager – to defeat a reigning World no. 1 at a major, when he upset Roger Federer in the semi-final of the 2005 French Open.
That semi-final, almost a decade ago, is now remembered for the start of the legacy that the Spaniard has created for himself in the sport. It still remains unknown what Nick Kyrgios’ legacy will turn out to be. But the manner of his win over Rafa does predicate more significant things in the offing for the Australian teen.
At first glance, Kyrgios reminds one of those ever-popular and ever-in-demand ‘cool’ footballers with funkily stylised hair and studs on his ears looks, far disjointed with the deep-rooted conventionality of tennis. But all it takes is one look at his game to realise that there’s nothing disjointed about it at all. There is an overall balance to his game beside a powerful serve. But what lends it credibility to sustain till the very end, is the comparatively lesser reliance on merely serving to stay in points and in games.
Grass might be Kyrgios’ favoured surface; he may have won an important Challenger tournament on grass just a week before the Championships. But at the end of the day, to play with the ease that he did, constantly returning the barrage of shots directed at him – to the extent of outhitting his more experienced opponents – while constructing match strategies that hoodwinked and outclassed them was no mean feat.
These were clearly discernible in his win over Richard Gasquet in the second round, where he saved nine match points before taking the fifth set 10-8, and against Rafa where he combined talent and equanimity to make it to his first Grand Slam quarter-final.
Before his fourth round match, Kyrgios’ mother may have ignited the fire within her son by an inadvertent turn of phrase making out Rafa to be the winner, even before the match began. But Kyrgios essentially ensured that at no point during the match this fire was doused – neither by complacency, nor by getting overawed by his opponent. Along with surety in his game-plan in ample amounts, Kyrgios’ self-assuredness was thus a stand-out factor in his win against Rafa. A quality that some of the Spaniard’s more seasoned rivals, have failed to hold on to whilst playing him. This same attitude helped him push Milos Raonic to four sets in the quarter-final before fatigue from playing back-to-back matches finally overwhelmed him physically.
Mentally however, his stamina remained quite intact which makes him an interesting prospect not just from the perspective of the future, but also for the remainder of the season. Especially more so now given that he’s broken into the top-100.
Aussie Future
From the Australian vantage point too, it’s an immensely awarding look-out. Consider this. For a nation has boasted of several goliaths in the men’s tour in the past, in recent years the Australian players chalking up the numbers have been sporadic at best. Lleyton Hewitt continues to push through, but it is no hidden secret – even before his subtly nudging hint about being ‘one injury away from retirement’ – that his best days are long past.
And where the successes of Bernard Tomic did offer high hopes for the nation Down Under, it’s as if the never-ending chaos involving his personal life have taken his career completely off-tangent. There again, the scrutiny surrounding Tomic, such as they are, manifest themselves vastly only during the start of the tennis calendar, beginning with the Australian Open before being muted as the season charts its course.
In that, Kyrgios’ aptitudes following his success at Wimbledon – as a wild card, no less – if nurtured carefully, hint at potentialities at much broader avenues. The much-talked about Aussie fighting spirit, which hasn’t had much chance to raise its head as far as tennis is concerned, too has the most opportune chance to peak again. With fiercer competitiveness and resilience unleashed more lethally as if bringing about a renaissance to suit the purposes of the next-gen timeline.
