Australia bad boy Nick Kyrgios insists he has detected an unmistakable change in the demeanour of leading title contenders, including Britain’s Andy Murray, following the Wimbledon demise of top seed Novak Djokovic.
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The 21-year-old copped fines for swearing in both his first two wins and was baited into a fiery verbal exchange during his post-match press conference after his second-round victory.
Alert to a kindred spirit, Murray has frequently defended Kyrgios against charges that he is a charmless buffoon blessed with a magically loose right arm. The Australian is respected for his raw talent and the kind of power game that can blow opponents away.
In fact, Kyrgios did have a go at Garner for a “horrendous” umpiring decision after he called “not up” for a double bounce on the first point of the third set, but he resented the implication that he’d actually sworn at the umpire.
Consistency has never been his strong point, but this season he has won a lot of matches and lifted his first ATP Tour trophy in Marseille.
These two have met four times in the past and Murray has won all of those matches. “I think as soon as Novak loses, you look at Andy and you look at Federer’s eyes light up”, he said. Mentally, I feel good.
Juan Martin Del Potro’s comeback grand slam ended in a third-round loss to Lucas Pouille.
“What did I say to the umpire today?”
“I definitely feel like he’s [Murray] beatable”.
“Yeah, I think our relationship’s pretty good”.
She is one of the world’s richest sports stars and is said to be worth more than £120 million.
“But he is also very big from the back of the court, his forehand is extremely strong and you need those sort of shots to get through Murray”.
Murray noted that Kyrgios has beaten Nadal on Centre Court before, but he has a 4-0 record against the Australian and 18-0 against players from Down Under.
Kyrgios said he was impressed with Murray’s athletic prowess, and said he spends time just staring at the British world number two in the locker room.
“The one ball that Nick got definitely didn’t bounce twice”. I normally take one each day and give it to someone on my team’.
The Australian, whose outbursts have landed him in trouble here and elsewhere, secured the contest with his friend and occasional mentor by beating Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4 on middle Sunday.
Physically, it has been a demanding week, with rain delays forcing the Australian to play on the three consecutive days leading up to Monday.
The presence of the Swiss seven-times champion looms large on the other side of the draw, which goes a long way towards explaining why the thought of lifting the trophy again has yet to enter Murray’s head.
He added: “We joke a lot”. At Queen’s Club three weeks ago, rivals looked on in astonishment as he went out to face Milos Raonic without any warm-up, just picking up his racket bag and walking straight from the players’ lounge where he had been chatting, rather than prepare in the locker room. “We joke a lot”.
“He’s a great guy”.
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“He’s an fantastic player, and for me to beat him that comfortably just showed how I’m playing”. I’m obviously relaxed, (but) I’m nervous as well.
