Wimbledon Day 8 - Nadal Stunned By Teenager Kyrgios

When 19 year old Australian Nick Kyrgios strolled into the theatre of Centre Court for the first time he gave the impression of a man who wasn’t going to be overawed.

He emerged from the locker room for his fourth round match against world number one Rafael Nadal with the odds staked against him, he returned barely believing he had just caused one of the biggest upsets in Grand Slam history.



Kyrgios leaps for joy after taking down the world number one

There were no injuries, no excuses for the 2010 Champion Nadal, not that the humble Spaniard makes them anyway. This was simply a case of a talented young teenager bursting on to the scene in the most dramatic way possible for the first time since Boris Becker’s Wimbledon triumph in 1985.

Kyrgios was fearless as he closed out a 7-6(5) 5-7 7-6(5) 6-3 victory in 2 hours 58 minutes. His serve was like a relentless cannonball, his forehand like a guided missile locked on to Nadal’s supremacy. Time and time again he seared through the Spaniard’s defence like it was nothing more than a practise session, if there was a nerve anywhere near him it didn’t show.

"I was in a bit of a zone out there and didn't really notice the crowd," Kyrgios said after the match. That could have been down to the bright pink headphones he was wearing as he stepped onto court which said as much about his vibrant, energetic style as they did about his laidback approach.

"I was struggling a little on return but I worked my way into it and I served really well throughout, so am very happy”  he added "You have to believe that you can win the match from the start and I definitely did. I am playing really well on grass."

It was clear from the beginning that Kyrgios was no ordinary teenage wildcard, for a start he had made it to the fourth round after winning a five set marathon with Richard Gasquet in round two a match in which he saved nine match points.

Before the match he joked that he and Nadal had won 14 major between them. Of course all 14 had been won by the Spaniard, but that didn’t appear to worry Kyrgios who appeared with his head held high making use of every inch his 6 ft 4 body had to offer.

The Australian played on his terms; a second serve ace in the first game gave the crowd a glimpse of what was to come. Kyrgios dropped just four point on his serve in the whole first set which was played at a speed Nadal simply couldn’t live with.

The World number one managed to save break points on his own serve but in the duel of a first set tie break Kyrgios played some inspired tennis and spurred on by his strong Aussie followers claimed it by 7 points to 5.

It was the fourth match in a row where Nadal had dropped the first set at the Championships and just like in the previous round against Mikhail Kukuskin he took what is becoming a traditional toilet break to go and search for the reset button.

However unlike Kukuskin, Kyrgios didn’t buckle. On numerous occasions Nadal tried to slow him down but the Australian was having none of it, making the most of the rule that states you play at the servers pace.

Both continued to hold serve with relative ease and once again a tie break appeared the likely outcome. But this time Nadal wasn’t ready to leave his Wimbledon fate to chance, he broke the Australian for the first time in the match to steal the second set 7-5. Surely now normal service would be resumed.

Yet Kyrgios wouldn’t lie down, he believed from the start he could win it and once he had edged the third set tie break so did the other 15,000 packed into an intrigued centre court.

From that point the energy visibly drained away from Nadal, as Kyrgios broke the Spaniard early in the fourth. He then powered through to victory finishing the match with with his 37^th ace to book his place in the Wimbledon quarter final where he will face Canadian Milos Raonic.