By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday June 30, 2021
Nick Kyrgios made the last-second decision to pop off his couch in Australia to come to Wimbledon, and so far the Aussie has proven that he is one of those unique talents that doesn’t need a lot of practice to reach top form.
Kyrgios edged Ugo Humbert, this year’s Halle champion and a very talented grass-courter, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 9-7, on Day 3 at Wimbledon, marching past the 21st-seeded Frenchman by locking down an extra-time victory in a match that had to be suspended due to curfew at 3-3 in the fifth set on Day 2.
After the victory Kyrgios quipped that he was going to head back to his hotel and cool down by playing some Call of Duty with his girlfriend, and in press he talked about following his own muse at Wimbledon, despite what the many critics out there might be saying.
“I got here four days before the event started,” he said. “I'm not sure what day that was. Yeah, look, a lot of people were telling me there's no chance, there's no point in you going with that short preparation. I was hearing a load of things.”
Kyrgios, a former Wimbledon quarter-finalist, says he knows himself and his game, and that’s what matters.
“I know my game, I know how to play on grass,” he said. "I'm not scared of anyone in the draw. I know if I believe and I'm feeling good mentally, like, I know what I'm capable of. I know that three, four days, a week, doesn't matter for me. A week preparation is not going to change. I've been playing this sport since I was seven years old. Like, three, two days, I could have two days, it doesn't matter. I'm going to go out there and give it. I'm going to serve big and play big, and just compete.”
Murray will take on Italy’s Gianluca Mager on Day 4, and it will be interesting to see if his body can hold up after spending a total of three hours and 26 minutes on court in his first match since the Australian Open.
“Like the amount of people who told me my preparation was not good enough, you're not good enough or anything, I don't really care what anyone says,” he said. “I'm my own person. I prepare the way I prepare and it worked.”