Wimbledon – Kyrgios: Taken out of the pub before Nadal match at four o’clock – Australian talks about difficult past

“It wasn’t anywhere near my best performance in terms of level, but I’m super happy to have done it,” said a relieved Kyrgios in the on-court interview after the 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-2 win over Nakashima: “Brandon has never played on this court, I think that made the difference today.”

Despite intermittent pain in his right shoulder, for which Kyrgios even had to call the physiotherapist twice, the Australian didn’t give up:

“My statistics in five-set matches here are pretty good, I haven’t lost any yet,” said the 27-year-old, who is now 6-0 in duels over the full distance at the All England Club: “I thought about that. I I’ve been there before, I’ve done it before.”

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And the injury? “I’ve played a lot of tennis over the past month and a half and I’m proud of how I maneuvered the ship,” wiped the world number 40. the problems succinctly aside. After the third round match against Tsitsipas, he already felt slight pain in his shoulder: “I already suspected that my body would start and cause a few problems.”

“I fought hard today and it was special to be able to compete here again. I definitely need a glass of wine tonight! For sure!” Kyrgios continued.

Kyrgios talks about difficult past: “I’ve come a long way”

At the subsequent press conference, he was content with a sugar-free cola and was much less aggressive than two days before. Rather thoughtful. “There was a time when I had to be taken out of the pub at 4:00 a.m. because later I played Nadal in the second round,” said Kyrgios. “I’ve come a long way.”

And that led him to the top eight at Wimbledon for the second time after 2014.

At that time, Kyrgios had beaten Rafael Nadal as a teenager, but then did not live up to the great expectations. Also because he suffered from depression, as he announced in February. At the time he was drinking and using drugs.

This season he has stabilized his performance and is a threat to the greatest of tennis. Especially when he pulls himself together like he did against Nakashima.

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