Mercurial Kyrgios happy to be 'relatable' entertainer than tennis god
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[July 03, 2021]
LONDON (Reuters) - Wimbledon is
Nick Kyrgios' first tournament since the Australian Open and only
his third since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the Tour last year
but the unseeded showman has hardly shown signs of rust after
storming into the third round.
Kyrgios' match against Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime will be only
his ninth of the year but he sent out a warning when he ousted 21st
seed Ugo Humbert in the first round in what was the Australian's
first match on grass in two years.
Long seen as a precocious talent who always let his emotions bring
the worst out in him, Kyrgios has found a way to take that burden
off his shoulders and conjure scintillating tennis at the All
England Club -- playing carefree without any goals.
"I just don't put that much pressure on myself any more, I'm okay
with that. I'm okay with not winning Grand Slams," Kyrgios said. "I
know that's going to make a lot of people angry. 'He should be doing
this,' but I shouldn't, though.
"It's not your life, it's mine. I'm okay with just enjoying myself,
putting on a show. Not everyone can be a (Roger) Federer or (Novak)
Djokovic. These are once-in-a-decade athletes that inspire millions
of people, they're just gods.
"You have to have some people, I believe, that are relatable, that
people can bring other fans to watch, like people that are just
normal. I feel like I'm one of those people."
That has been on display with members of the crowd coaching him
between points.
"I'm quite lighthearted. Yeah, they know it's a bit of a show. They
just want entertainment at the end of the day," he added.
Auger-Aliassime beat Kyrgios in a close contest in their only
meeting two years ago at Queen's Club but the 20-year-old is not
taking things lightly.
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Australia's Nick Kyrgios celebrates
winning his first round match against France's Ugo Humbert
REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo
"Nick is a great player, a great
entertainer. I think he's good for tennis. He seems focused and
playing well the last few matches," the Canadian said. "He has
everything that a player needs to play well, especially on grass, he
serves amazing."
Eight-times champion Federer will return to Centre Court for his
third round match against the last British man left standing -- 29th
seed Cameron Norrie.
While the Swiss can usually count on having most of the crowd
support no matter where he plays, on Saturday there might be more of
a split.
"I understand if they cheer for him and if it is for me it is
because of the last 20 years and all the big wins I've had here,"
Federer said about his showdown with the Queen's Club runner-up.
"But enough now, he needs to go out. I need to go through," he added
with a laugh.
American teenager Coco Gauff will look to move into the Wimbledon
quarter-finals for the first time when she takes on Slovenia's Kaja
Juvan, while top seed Ash Barty is up against Czech Katerina
Siniakova.
Meanwhile, men's second seed Daniil Medvedev faces 2017 finalist
Marin Cilic.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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