By JACK LeGWIN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
Tennis has a new rising star in Nick Kyrgios.
The youngest player in the Wimbledon men’s singles draw at 19 years old, Kyrgios took out Rafael Nadal in four sets in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon 7-6 (5), 5-7, 7-6, 6-3, closing the match out with his 37th ace.
Kyrgios is the first player ranked outside the top 100 to beat the No. 1-ranked player in the world at Wimbledon since 1992.
“I think I was in a bit of a zone out there,” Kyrgios told the BBC after the match. “It hasn’t sunk in at all.”
His mother didn’t even think he was good enough to take down the world No. 1 and two-time Wimbledon champ.
“I saw in an interview that she thought he was too good,” Kyrgios said. “That kind of made me angry the night before. I don’t know what she was thinking, she can think whatever she wants.”
Kyrgios had huge support from the Aussie fans and he said that they were a huge factor in the match.
“I love them, I love every single one of them,” Kyrgios said. “I couldn’t have done any of this without them. I can’t thank them enough.”
Kyrgios will play Canadian Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals on Wednesday in a matchup of huge servers who demolish the ball from the baseline.
Not only was this big news for the 19-year-old.
This is a big break for Roger Federer who got a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over Tommy Robredo in the Round of 16 and will face a stern test from fellow countryman Stanislas Wawrinka, the Australian Open champ, on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.
Nadal is 23-10 all-time against Federer. They would have met in the semifinals if they both won out.
Photo: Wimbledon
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