"Easy to take cheap shots at Nick Kyrgios, he rules the hearts of under-30s worldwide and a Wimbledon final surely beckons"

Nick Kyrgios' dream run at Wimbledon has been clouded by his on-court antics and a court summons that was issued ahead of his quarterfinal match.

Former doubles World No. 1 Paul McNamee has come out strongly in his countryman's defence, stating that the Aussie "ruled the hearts of under 30s worldwide" while questioning the timing of the summons and slamming his detractors.

McNamee, who has partnered with Peter McNamara and Martina Navratilova en route to Wimbledon triumphs in the men's doubles and mixed doubles events, has asserted that the Wimbledon final beckons for his compatriot.

"It’s easy to take cheap shots at Nick Kyrgios, but in the face of his self admitted demons and deplorable timing for a court summons to be served on him (why oh why couldn’t it wait until next week?), he rules the hearts of under 30’s worldwide, & a Wimbledon final surely beckons."

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The 27-year-old, who was asked to appear before an Australian court next month for allegedly assaulting his former girlfriend, revealed that he harbored suicidal thoughts at a post-match press conference after the quarterfinals.

He has also made headlines for several altercations with umpires and line judges at SW19, including one where he demanded that his third-round opponent Stefanos Tsitsipas be defaulted after the Greek hit the ball into the crowd.

The World No. 40 got past Christian Garin in the quarterfinals despite the disturbing news of the summons coming through barely 24 hours before the match. He is now in a great position to reach his first-ever Grand Slam final given his opponent Rafael Nadal's troubles with an abdominal injury.

Epic semifinal beckons as Nick Kyrgios takes on Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon

Nick Kyrgios in action against Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon 2019

Despite being on the wrong end of controversies, Nick Kyrgios has had a memorable week at Wimbledon with the promise of more to come.

While the question on most people's minds is whether Rafael Nadal will be able to overcome his physical ailments ahead of the big semifinal, a classic contest is on the cards if the Spaniard manages to come into his own on Friday.

As a 19-year-old debutant, the Australian shocked Nadal to advance to the Wimbledon quarterfinals back in 2014. The Mallorcan turned the tables on Kyrgios when they met at Wimbledon for the second time in 2019 and now leads the overall head-to-head 6-3.

According to Spanish media house MARCA, the 22-time Grand Slam champion has a 7-mm tear in one of his abdominal muscles but is expected to play in the semifinals on Friday.

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