Wednesday 2 July 2014
Nick Kyrgios, an Australian teenager with no fear and a golden arm, blew the world No1, Rafael Nadal, off Centre Court in four extraordinary sets on Tuesday night to reach the quarter-finals on his Wimbledon debut.
Those bald facts alone are stunning. But Kyrgios’s nerveless performance, built on a serve to inspire fear and admiration, embroidered the occasion so completely with his free spirit and irresistible power that it was easy to ignore that Nadal hit 44 winners and only 18 unforced errors – stats to win most matches – and still could not subdue the youthful charge of a wildcard ranked 144 in the world.
Whatever happens, Kyrgios is already the player of the fortnight, maybe the player of the year. The scoreline read 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 and Kyrgios hit 70 winners but mere numbers cannot tell the whole story, as startling as they are.
