Wimbledon 2022: Nick Kyrgios beats Brandon Nakashima to advance to quarterfinals
Nick Kyrgios is into the Wimbledon quarterfinals … but he faces yet another investigation after admitting to tanking a key game in the fourth set.
Nick Kyrgios roared “let’s f….g go!” on centre court after winning a five-set thriller against unseeded American Brandon Nakashima, booking his first Wimbledon quarterfinals appearance since 2014.
Admitting to loving the controversy that swirls around him, Kyrgios openly said he broke dress code rules by wearing red trainers and a cap onto the court “because I can” and then confessed to tanking the last game of the fourth set.
In what could be an effort to ameliorate the extent of a penalty, given Kyrgios clearly didn’t attempt to win several points, he said he was simply employing a “a rope-a-dope” tactical strategy.
“I just threw away that service game. I knew he was in a rhythm. He was starting to get on top of me. I kind of just wanted to throw him off a little bit. It worked,” Kyrgios said.
But under Championship rules, players are obliged to give their best efforts at all times. During that particular game, the effort was so obviously poor that commentators spoke about Kyrgios “letting that one go”.
Officials are now assessing if Kyrgios violated the rule about best effort, which attracts a fine up to $US20,000. If the officials decide the rule breaking was flagrant, it could attract “aggravated behaviour” penalties of up to $US250,000. And if Kyrgios – who has been the most controversial player of the Championships after spitting in the direction of a spectator, calling a linesman a snitch, abusing the referee and smashing a ball out of the court – is deemed to have a pattern of behaviour particularly injurious to the success of the tournament, he could be even banned from Grand Slams.
Tennis insiders said the fact that Kyrgios eventually won the match may help his case, given he said he was adopting a strategic ploy. But if he had lost the match – which he wouldn’t have known at the time – Kyrgios would have risked much harsher treatment.
Kyrgios, 27, will now play Chilean clay court specialist Cristian Garin, who came back from two sets down to topple Australia’s Alex de Minaur. It means Kyrgios and Garin, both unseeded, will battle for a semi-final spot on Wednesday.
That's how to seal a victory ðŸ‘@NickKyrgios has the Centre Court crowd on their feet#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100pic.twitter.com/l8VeZmTTvf
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 4, 2022
Kyrgios had overcome a sore shoulder in the first set on Monday, even requiring a medical time out for a massage and the consumption of a handful of painkillers. The injury appeared to focus his mind on his tennis rather than any perceived slights.
Relying on his serve – he seemed to fire in an ace whenever he was in trouble, recording 35 in total – Kyrgios was able to overcome the smart tactics of Nakashima, who often fired in the ball at Kyrgios’ feet deep into the court.
Kyrgios eventually prevailed 4-6, 6-4, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2. He said he was mentally tough during the game, comparing it to the time: “where I was having to be forced out of a pub at 4am to play Nadal second round. My agent had to come get me out of a pub at 4am before I played my match on Centre Court Wimbledon. I’ve come a long way, that’s for sure.”
"I need a glass of wine for sure tonight!"
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 4, 2022
Vintage @NickKyrgios ðŸ·#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100pic.twitter.com/PK3NmUqy0n
He added: “Now to sit here quarterfinals of Wimbledon, feeling good, feeling composed, feeling mature, having that around me, I’m extremely blessed. I feel like I’m just comfortable in my own skin.”
Kyrgios admitted the most recent three-hour match was not his best but he appeared to take some consolation that “I fought really hard today”, noting that never losing a five-set match at Wimbledon gave him confidence.
“I need a glass of wine for sure tonight,’’ he said.
The centre court spectators, more reserved than the court one crowd for the bad tempered clash between Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday night, witnessed a demure version of Kyrgios’ usual ranting. Part of that was because 20-year-old Nakashima refused to engage or offer Kyrgios any reasons to complain.
But Kyrgios’ theatrics have continued to divide opinion. Australian star Pat Cash said Kyrgios had been lucky to get this far as he could have been defaulted in the first round match against Paul Jubb for smacking a ball out of the court, accusing an official of being a snitch, and spitting towards a heckler.
“He’s brought tennis to the lowest level I can see as far as gamesmanship, cheating, manipulation, abuse, aggressive behaviour to umpires, to linesmen,’’ Cash said on BBC radio.
“He was lucky to even get through the first set, he should have been defaulted in the first set. Something’s got to be done about it – it’s just an absolute circus. Is it entertaining? Yeah, possibly. It’s gone to the absolute limit now.”
Kyrgios believed he would face Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinal as the Australian was up two sets on court two, but despite two match points, de Minaur lost in five sets over four-and-a-half hours, 2-6, 5-7, 7-6, 6-4, 7-6.
De Minaur was extremely disappointed not to go deeper into the second week of Wimbledon but the intense effort he injected into the match cannot be understated.
The first man to recover from two sets down at this year's Championships
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 4, 2022
Take a bow, Cristian Garin ðŸ‘#Wimbledonpic.twitter.com/EdEi8dDBz3
“I didn’t play the important points right,” de Minaur said.
“It’s been kind of a recurring sort of event for a while now, so it’s something I’ve got to improve on.
“Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, two sets to love up, had breakpoints in the third, had match points in the fifth. The match was full of chances, that’s for sure”.
De Minaur had scurried around the court, from the net to the baseline, forehand to backhand on every point, stretching Garin for the entire match.
In the closing games, de Minaur dived full-length to reach a return, slicing his little finger and requiring it to be taped up.
Garin said his aggressiveness, coming to the net and taking sharper angles proved to be the difference. But how close it was.
â–ª Two sets down
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 4, 2022
â–ª Two match points saved
â–ª First Grand Slam quarter-final
A sublime Cristian Garin comeback is complete 🇨🇱#Wimbledonpic.twitter.com/7lXBhwbEs7
De Minaur quickly notched up the first set, but had a tougher struggle in the next sets. He won the second and was just six points away from victory in the third, which went to a tie-breaker, when Garin rallied. Then followed two hours of gripping play, broken service games by both players and long rallies.
“I gave everything I had, that was a very tough fight, it was a battle,” Garin said.
“Alex is an incredible player, for men he is one of the best on grass … but I am stuffed.”
The other Australian male, Jason Kubler, lost in straight sets to the big serving American Taylor Fritz.
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