The
young Australian reached his first ever Grand Slam quarter-final by
beating the fourteen-time Grand Slam champion. He will have to do it all
again tonight when he takes on Milos Raonic in the quarter-final clash.
But what else do you need to know about Nick Kyrgios?
Born in
Canberra, Australia, Kyrgios is half Greek, through father Giorgos, and
half Malaysian, through mother Norlaila. He is the third of three
children including brother Christos and sister Halimah. He used to be
ballboy for Christos, who is eight years older.
He
was a very good basketball player in his youth and nearly chose that
career. His favourite sports team is NBA team Boston Celtics.
He
won his first junior tour title in 2010 at the age of 15 and went on to
win two junior Grand Slam titles in 2012. By last year he was the No 1
boys player in the world and then turned pro.
Potential: Kyrgios was world junior number one before turning professional last year
WHAT TIME DOES KYRGIOS PLAY?
Nick Kyrgios will take on Canadian Milos Raonic in a quarter-final clash tonight.
Raonic is Canada's own success story. In tennis's Open era, he's the first Canadian men's singles player to make it to the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
The coverage kicks off at 9pm tonight but Kyrgios will have to wait for Eugenie Bouchard to play Angelique Kerber, then Novak Djokovic to play Marin Cilic, before he hits the court.
It is likely he could start playing any time between midnight and 4am AEST.
Raonic is Canada's own success story. In tennis's Open era, he's the first Canadian men's singles player to make it to the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
The coverage kicks off at 9pm tonight but Kyrgios will have to wait for Eugenie Bouchard to play Angelique Kerber, then Novak Djokovic to play Marin Cilic, before he hits the court.
It is likely he could start playing any time between midnight and 4am AEST.
The
distinctive tape he wears on his arm is just the one his physio gives
him before matches. There is no special design. ‘I say my arm is a
little sore, she just puts it on,’ he says.
He
started off his tennis career as a tubby and trailing around after his
older brother Christos as a ball boy. He learned to play with power and
accuracy so he wouldn't have to run.
He
was ranked 843th in February 2013 but has since rocketed up all the way
to 144th on entering Wimbledon after success at Challenger level.
He
has four Challenger titles to his name, on hard, clay and grass. He won
at Nottingham in the build-up to Wimbledon. After that he earned Andy
Murray’s backing. ‘Next big Aussie star,’ he tweeted. ‘We will be seeing
a lot of him very shortly on the main tour.
Nick
Kyrgios' coach, New Zealander Simon Rea, faces an uncertain future
despite guiding the Australian teenager to the last eight at Wimbledon.
The partnership could end amid reports Kyrgios wants to return to his
Canberra home, having spent much of the past year with Rea in Melbourne.
In the second round at Wimbledon he saved nine match points to beat Richard Gasquet – a record in the Open Era.
While
Nadal has won 64 career titles and $74million in prize money, Kyrgios
has zero ATP titles and winnings of $248,000 total… so far.
His
Twitter handle is @NickKyrgios. His following has rocketed during
Wimbledon to more than 54,000. After the win he wrote: ‘Erm, ok then...
Nick spent his early years acting as his older
brother Christos' ball boy, with his mother Norlaila saying 'he was
quite proud of himself, walking around collecting the balls'
Good call: The Australian had considered a career in Basketball before choosing tennis instead
He
was beaten in the first round of the boys' singles event in 2011 by
Britain's Liam Broady. Broady is now ranked 392 in the world and playing
in Futures tournaments.
The
last time he lost on the lawns of the All England Club was in the boys’
event last year, to South Korea’s Hyeon Chung, who is now ranked 299.
His
favourite film is Happy Gilmore with Adam Sandler and his idol is Roger
Federer. The pair practised together before this year’s French Open.
DM
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