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Nick Kyrgios Australian Open 2022
ATP Tennis Players, Nick Kyrgios, Tennis News

Nick Kyrgios’s most iconic moments


Nick Kyrgios is widely acknowledged as one of the most naturally talented players on tour but this talent has sometimes been overshadowed by his somewhat unconventional behaviour on and off the court. So to celebrate this maverick Australian lets enjoy his most iconic on court moments so far.

1. ‘Shot of the year’ – Wimbledon 2014

19 year old Kyrgios burst onto the scene at SW19, where he became the first man to reach the last eight on debut in a decade.

Entering the All England Club as a wildcard and ranked as 144th in the world, Kyrgios made the headlines in the second round as he completed a miraculous five set comeback against 13th seed Richard Gasquet. During the match he saved an incredible 9 match points and it was his first ever win coming from two sets to love down at ATP Tour level.

He followed this victory up with another memorable performance in the fourth round when he faced the World number one Rafael Nadal for a place in the quarter-finals. He won the closely contested battle in four sets winning 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, holding his nerve and serving out the victory with his 37th ace for an historic win.

He even managed to hit a ‘shot of the year’ contender – hitting an outrageous between the legs drop shot from behind the baseline to everybody’s disbelief.

Despite Kyrgios losing to Canadian Milos Raonic in the quarter-finals, Wimbledon 2014 was certainly a huge moment in Kyrgios’s early career.

 

 

2. First ATP title Win   

In February 2016, Kyrgios claimed his first ever piece of ATP silverware by winning the Open 13 in Marseille. In the final, he beat the fourth seed and former US Open Champion Marin Cilic in straight sets 6-2, 7-6 (3).

On the way to the title, he also beat two top 10 players in the form of number eight Tomas Berdych and number 10 Richard Gasquet.

What makes this tournament win even more remarkable was that he did not lose his serve all tournament, becoming the first first-time winner to do so in a tour-level event in the Open Era.

 

 

3. Title win in Acapulco

In March 2019, Nick Kyrgios claimed his fifth ATP tour title with a blistering winning run at the Mexico Open. He wrapped up the final in 1 hour and 30 minutes beating World number three Alexander Zverev in straight sets 6-3, 6-4.

In the space of the previous seven days, Kyrgios had defeated the world number two (Rafael Nadal), the world number nine (John Isner) and former world number three and double Grand Slam title winner Stan Wawrinka.

In particular, the win versus Nadal in the round of 16 is considered a classic, with a final set tie-break having to decide the winner. Kyrgios was one set down and faced 3 match points in the deciding tiebreak, however was able to claw his way back and win the match leaving fans on the edge of their seats.

 

 

4. Winning the 2022 Australian Men’s doubles title

In January of this year, Nick Kyrgios alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis, won their first ever Grand Slam doubles tournament by beating fellow Aussies Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell 7-5, 6-4 in final. It was the first all-Australian men’s doubles final at the ”Happy Slam” since 1980.

The pair had played together in three previous Majors only ever winning one match. Yet there run to become Champions was nothing short of extraordinary. En route to the title they beat top seeds and 2021 Wimbledon Champions Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, 15th seeds Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar and sixth seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus. In the semi-finals, they also beat third seeds and 2021 Wimbledon finalists Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in straight sets.

To add to this remarkable underdog story, they were also the first all-Australian pair to win the title since 1997 and the first wildcards to win the event in the Open Era and to triumph in any major in almost a decade.

 

 

5. Speaking openly about mental health 

In recent times Nick Kyrgios has been an advocate of mental health, speaking openly and candidly about his own personal experiences.

Last month in an emotional Instagram post, he opened up on his struggle with mental health and revealed his battles with depression, self-harm and drug and alcohol abuse.

He said, ”This was me 3 years ago at the Australian Open. Most would assume I was doing ok mentally or enjoying my life… it was one of my darkest periods. If you look closely, on my right arm you can see my self harm.”

”I was having suicidal thoughts and was literally struggling to get out of bed, let alone play in front of millions. I was lonely, depressed, negative, abusing alcohol, drugs, pushed away family & friends.”

”I felt as if I couldn’t talk or trust anyone. This was a result of not opening up and refusing to lean on my loved ones and simply just push myself little by little to be positive. I know that day to day life can seem extremely exhausting, impossible at times.”

”I understand that you feel if you open up it may make you feel weak, or scared. I’m telling you right now, it’s OK, you are not alone. I’ve been through those times when it seemed as if those positive energetic vibes were never ever going to be reality.”

”Please, don’t feel as if you are alone, if you feel as if you can’t talk to anyone, I’m here, reach out. I’m proud to say I’ve completely turned myself around and have a completely different outlook on everything, I don’t take one moment for granted.”

”I want you to be able to reach your full potential and smile. This life is beautiful.”


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