Wimbledon: Rafa Nadal survives the enigma – that is – Nick Kyrgios

Rafael Nadal did exactly what was expected of him and played the usual Rafa style tennis, from the baseline, to topple Nick Kyrgios 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(3) and send him out of Wimbledon 2019.

Nick, on the other hand, had a decent shot at winning but came undone in the third and fourth set tiebreaks.

Nick Kyrgios made good on his word and gave it his best shot.

In an interview prior to the match, Nick had stated his intent to give the match, against Nadal, his best shot.

“This is something that I can’t take for granted. There’s no guarantee I’m going to be here again in this position. Could have an injury or something like that. I’m going to grasp with both hands, go out there, give it my best shot.”

To his credit, Kyrgios played the best he could, under the circumstances, and did not appear to throw-in the towel at any point during the exciting four-set contest.

Kyrgios was undone by his open dislike for Rafa.

Nick Kyrgios, we believe, was well placed during the games in the third and fourth sets. Rafa had no answer to Nick’s aggression and serve, and couldn’t produce anything substantial to break his serve during the games.

In the pressure-packed tiebreak situations, however, Nick cracked under the enormous weight of making good on his dislike for Rafa. He tightened up in some crucial points during the tiebreak and, therefore, made some silly and uncalled for errors. The margins for errors, to begin with, is quite slim in a tiebreak, and any form of added pressure only makes the situation worse.

Nick, therefore, was undone by his dislike for Rafa under the pressure-packed tiebreak situations.

Kyrgios wanted to hit Rafa with the ball, and was unapologetic about it.

When asked if he had aimed the ball at Nadal, Kyrgios then responded: “Yeah, I was going for him. ‘Yeah, I wanted to hit him square in the chest. Like, he’s got decent hands.”

Nick was also unapologetic for intentionally attempting to hit Rafa with the ball.

“Why would I apologize? ‘I won the point.  ‘I don’t care. ‘Why would I apologize? ‘I mean, the dude has got how many slams, how much money in the bank account? ‘I think he can take a ball to the chest, bro. ‘I’m not going to apologize to him at all.”

Nick, for all his bad attributes, is definitely not someone who pretends to be someone who he is not. He does not do or say things that’d portray a false impression of his true – exasperating and difficult to like – nature, only to appear more likable to the others. There are a few, if not too many, who’d genuinely appreciate such a quality in a person.

Kyrgios fired a 143 mph second serve followed by an under-arm ace!

Nick Kyrgios entertained as usual and even fired a 143 mph second serve ace during the first set against Rafa. That second serve, apparently, was the fastest, first or second serve, for the tournament so far. Nick was upset about losing a challenge on his first serve and then barreled down an untouchable second. He topped the 143 mph serve with an underarm ace moments later!

Kyrgios was spotted at a London pub only hours before his match against Nadal!

Nick Kyrgios‘ bizarre preparation for the match against Nadal was quite unconventional, to say the least.  He was spotted at the Dog and Fox pub late into the night, only hours before he was due to play Rafael Nadal.

Eurosport commentator Miguel Seabra wrote on twitter about his toast with Kyrgios at 11pm local time, on Wednesday. Miguel also tweeted that Kyrgios appeared completely relaxed, and was laughing, chatting, and drinking.

Kyrgios, apparently, wasn’t too concerned about playing Rafa, or was it just his way of dealing with the pressure of an important match?