Wimbledon, England – While many have followed the seeds, followed history and predicted a men’s singles final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal (seeded number one and two in the event) after the Wimbledon draw was revealed, there was another potential showdown that caught the attention of people on Nadal’s side of the arc.
When Nick Kyrgios entered the tournament, there were two schools of thought: the Australian could make his first match and be out by lunchtime; Or he could come and play with his abilities and have a chance to win everything.
Ten days after Wimbledon 2022, we’re heading towards option B, where Kyrgios and Nadal will meet on Friday in the men’s semi-finals, with Djokovic facing fan favorite Cameron Norrie in the other.
Let’s start with Kyrgios and Nadal. There is a lot to unpack here. There are a lot of contradictions here. And a lot of history, too.
It was at Wimbledon where Kyrgios took to the tennis arena after a shocking fourth-round upset to Nadal in 2014. Then, at just 19, the Australian became the first teenager to defeat the top seed at a Grand Slam since Nadal claimed the title. Same thing against a teammate named Roger Federer in 2005. Since then, Kyrgios has remained baffled unable to accomplish and is terribly talented; He is deeply unwilling to work and do what is necessary to maximize his chances of success. Nadal, of course, is the absolute opposite of that, who writes everything out of his game.
Nick Kyrgios is 6-3 overall against Rafael Nadal.
Alberto Bezzali/The Associated Press
Just take a look at how the 22-time Grand Slam champion rebounded in the quarter-finals. He was clearly injured and sent in the ’90s (mph) – the equivalent of throwing a 70 mph fast ball – yet he came up with a way to rally from two sets, force the fifth set tiebreak and win over Taylor Fritz. Pushed for over four hours, Nadal was visibly afflicted with such a nagging abdominal problem that his father, Sebastian, was telling him to stop the player’s chest. The drama, along with Nadal’s point-by-point grinning, has prompted all sorts of real-time speculation about whether he will leave the match. Meanwhile, Kyrgios was remarkably practical and uncharacteristic in his straight sets win over Christian Garin.
But as he continued through the most impressive phase of his career, he did not escape controversy out of court. On Tuesday came the news that he is now facing assault charges in Australia over an incident with an ex-girlfriend that allegedly turned violent. He is due to appear in court in Canberra next month. Conviction or guilty plea obviously reframe any discussion of Kyrgios. Admittedly, not denied, we’ll limit this to tennis, for now.
There are many variants with Kyrgios, and against Nadal, there is also a distinct contrast of styles. It is not just a left versus straight approach, but rather a comprehensive approach to the profession. Kyrgios respects Nadal for what he has accomplished, but they are not “buds”. Kyrgios sprints to the baseline between service points, while before serving Nadal goes through a systematic step-by-step process that has unceremoniously introduced the sport to the serving clock.
There are many players who love Kyrgios (Andy Murray, for example) and players who love his antics on the field and he has friends in the locker room. Nadal is not one of them. I think Nadal is almost personally offended, not by his antics but by the way Kyrgios deals with the talent he has and wasted. Nadal said it after Kyrgios defeated him in Acapulco three years ago.
“He can win Grand Slams and fight for the top spots in the standings, but there is a reason why he is in his place,” Nadal told reporters at the time. He lacks respect for the audience, the competitor, and towards himself.
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It’s not about Kyrgios flogging Nadal during matches – he will take care of half the court but will not be impatient for some things he might find disrespectful, such as prolonged disharmony with a referee or racquet smashing. Kyrgios could explode at any moment and the smallest thing could explode. It feeds chaos. There’s a lot of wear and tear from these matches—and when you don’t play tennis full time, as Kyrgios doesn’t, and you don’t train full time, Kyrgios will happily tell you he doesn’t, and who knows how stamina he’s been in six matches at a tournament like Wimbledon. Kyrgios gives the best serve of anyone left in the draw, he has guys on his side (at least against Nadal), but he’s an unpredictable player.
Kyrgios needs to serve up well and move Nadal. He will know early in the match how bad Nadal’s abdominal injury is. Nadal had wrapped up the area in the fourth round and seemed to fire up about an hour later against Fritz. He had to adjust his service move to make up for it. On Thursday, he practiced his training, but for less than half an hour, while it was reported that he had a 7 mm tear in the area.
Nadal, who leads the overall series 6-3, will be ready and pushing through any annoying pain. He has to figure out a way to get his serve up despite the injury, because you’re not going to defeat Kyrgios by sending 90 mph.
As he always does, Nadal will insist, insist, insist.
Is there any hope for Nuri against Djokovic?
Heading to Wimbledon, Djokovic has played a limited number of matches due to his COVID vaccination status.
IMAGO / Action Plus
Djokovic was definitely encouraging David Goffin, a lesser version of him, to pass Nouri in the quarters. Nouri, a leftist, makes players uncomfortable and makes it difficult for them to reach their own rhythm. The Brit is on his way up and hasn’t been in this position before, and in some ways, that can be a blessing.
The tenth factor here is the crowd, and they know it. Tennis fans know that Djokovic will not like the 85-15 split between fans who will undoubtedly be in favor of Nuri. It’s hard to see Djokovic lose this match, but the combination of an uncomfortable left-winger and an inhospitable crowd might turn him up a bit.
There was a question heading into Wimbledon as to whether the lack of an all-out match this year would affect Djokovic’s success, but he looked good throughout the tournament and played himself in good shape.
predictions
Nadal at five, Djokovic in straight sets… and we’ll have the 60th meeting between these two guys from two generations in the Wimbledon final.
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