TENNIS WIMBLEDON 2014 – 2nd of July. M. Raonic d. N. Kyrgios 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6. An interview with Nick Kyrgios
Q. How much did yesterday impact on today?
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, I think it had a pretty big impact. You know, I was struggling physically about halfway through the second set. I was feeling sore in a couple places.
But I’m not going to take any credit away from him. He served unbelievable. You know, I thought I came out strong on his first return game. I made him earn that.
All the other service games it looked like he was in such a rhythm that I just couldn’t do anything out there.
Q. Did you get an appreciation for how Rafa must have felt yesterday?
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, it was extraordinary. I woke up this morning and it had sunk in. It was such a great achievement. That’s something that no one can take away from me. I’m always going to have that now.
I drew a lot of confidence out of that. I thought I played a strong first set today. I just couldn’t maintain that level. What he brought today was something special, I thought.
Q. Could you give us an idea what the last 24 hours have been like.
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, it’s been really exciting. It’s been a special week for me. At the same time, it’s been so exhausting. I got nothing left to give.
You know, that’s what Grand Slams do to you. If I was to go further, I’m going to have to get stronger. I’m going to have to get so much better in so many areas.
Q. What does the past nine days tell you about what you can achieve in the future?
NICK KYRGIOS: Tells me there’s a lot of room for improvement. But at the same time, there’s something special I have that can make it deep into Grand Slams. I’m doing it at 19.
I think in the future there’s going to be something there that, you know, of course I can go a bit further.
Q. Are you aware that in terms of public awareness of you, money, the players now are aware of you, that your life is totally changed over the last two days and it will never be the same again?
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, I think I’m pretty aware of that. I’ve noticed the change, especially from yesterday to today. In the first day I was walking around the crowds and no one noticed me at all.
Then I was walking around the crowds yesterday and this morning and everyone’s noticing me.
So, yeah, I’ve noticed a change.
Q. How do you plan to deal with the pressure that comes with expectation, having made the quarters here?
NICK KYRGIOS: I’m just going to do whatever I can. Do whatever I can that I can control. Work hard, give great effort. When I’m back home, I’m going to spend about a week and a half at home now and do a training block in Melbourne. I’m just going to do whatever I can.
Q. There’s been talk about you changing coaches and what the future holds for you. What are your short term plans and what is the situation with the coach?
NICK KYRGIOS: You know, I’ve had the best week of my life. He’s done a great job there. I haven’t really thought too much about it yet. Obviously, you know, this week he was my coach.
Yeah, I haven’t thought about it too much at all. Obviously we’ll have some discussions about that with my whole team. At this stage, there’s nothing.
Q. Having measured yourself against the best in the world, what are you going to work now? What have you seen about your game that needs improvement?
NICK KYRGIOS: Well, if you look at today, I think Milos was far better physically than I was. He looked fresh by the end of the match. It was noticeable that I was struggling a little bit.
I’m going to work on my physical side of things. I’m just going to get better in many areas. My serve can improve, forehand, backhand, volleys, transitioning. I can name millions of things that need to get improved.
Q. Did you sleep much last night or were you still playing half volleys through your legs at half past 3:00 in the morning?
NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, I actually did get a bit of sleep last night. It wasn’t easy. I was so exhausted after yesterday’s match. I was just lying there trying to sleep. It was hard. So many thoughts running through my head.
I was eventually so exhausted that I just fell asleep.
