The next big thing in Australian tennis, Nick Kyrgios, has stunned Wimbledon today after holding serve – and his nerve – to claim an astonishing upset victory over world number one Rafael Nadal. The youngest player in the tournament at just nineteen years of age, the former basketball player from Canberra staged a memorable four set victory, advancing to the quarter final stages of the tournament while comprehensively proving he can compete at the highest level for years to come after emerging victorious over one of the best tennis players of all time, 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.
Relying on his pinpoint and powerful service game, Kyrgios dropped serve just once and delivered a whopping 37 aces before tumbling out the world number one, and with him, a clutch of records. He is now the first teenager to defeat a world number one at a grand slam since Rafa himself did it against Roger Federer at the 2005 French Open. He is the first player ranked outside of the top 100 to defeat a world number one at a grand slam since Andrei Olhovsky beat Jim Courier at Wimbledon in 1992. And he is the lowest ranked player to ever beat Rafa at a major.
“I was in a bit of a zone out there, it hasn’t sunk in yet,” he said. “I played some extraordinary tennis. I was struggling a little bit on return but I worked my way into it and I got that break in the fourth set. I served at a really good level all throughout the match so I was really happy.”
“You have to believe that you can win the match from the start, and I definitely thought that.”
Former U.S. great John McEnroe summed it up best from the commentary box: “This crowd is witnessing the birth of a new star.”
Kyrgios now faces eight seeded Canadian Milos Raonic.
Photo: Quinn Rooney via Getty Images
