In what is arguably the biggest upset at this year’s Wimbledon Championships, wildcard Nick Kyrgios of Australia eliminated two-time champion and world number number one Rafael Nadal 7-6, 5-7, 7-6, 6-3 in a dazzling display of tennis from a player ranked 144th in the world.
“I think I was in a bit of a zone out there,” Kyrgios in an interview with BBC TV. “It hasn’t sunk in what just played out out there. I played extraordinary tennis. I was struggling a bit on return, but I worked my way into it. I served at a really good level and I’m really happy.
“You’ve got to believe you can win the match from the start and I did. I’m playing unbelievable tennis on the grass. He hit extraordinary shots, but he’s always going to bring that.”
The 19-year old is joing the Wimbledon main draw event for the first time after being awarded a wild card in this grasscourt Slam event. He will next face Milos Raonic of Canada in the quarterfinals.
Kyrgios has already shown promise at this event after winning the junior boys doubles title a year ago with compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis. He also won a grasscourt Challenger event a week ago at Nottingham which further bolstered his confidence at this tournament.
“I just go through my routine and I just play aggressive,” said Kyrgios. “If they play too good on that point, then it’s too good. But I’m going to go after it and give myself the best chance to win the point.”
“That’s the biggest win of my career obviously, and that’s something I’m never going to forget,” he said. “I’m going to draw so much confidence out of that no matter where I play now. To have that under my belt, it’s massive.”
Kyrgios produced 70 winners which included 37 aces to defeat Nadal in two hours and 58 minutes at the centre Court.
“The thing is this surface, when you have an opponent that decides to serve and to hit every ball very strong, you are in trouble,” said Nadal. “I think that I didn’t play really bad, but that’s the game in this surface.
“I think in the second and the third set I was better than him, but I was not able to convert those opportunities. And for the rest, I think he played better than me. So, in general, talking about what you need to win in this surface, he did the things better than me.”
Nadal, 28, was fresh from winning his 14th Grand Slam title at French Open in Paris and was attempting to bounce back from dismal grasscourt results the past two years. He lost in the second round to Lukas Rosol in 2012 and to Belgian Steve Darcis in the opening round a year ago.
