There must be something about the grass of Wimbledon which ignites the brilliant showman in Nick Kyrgios. A year ago, as a wild card and a teenager on his debut at The Championships, he knocked out the then world No.1 Rafael Nadal and went on to reach the quarter-finals.
On Friday he clocked up another stunning victory which, in its own way, was just as significant a milestone in his soaring career by outhitting the seventh seed, Milos Raonic, the most formidable server in the men’s game, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(3), 6-3, to march into the fourth round.
The clinching forehand which left Raonic flat-footed after two hours 43 minutes set the seal on a mightily impressive performance in which he out-aced the towering Canadian by 34 to 18, fought back from dropping the opening set and simply wore down his opponent with a mixture of exuberance, determination and brilliance.
That the spectators might be in for an afternoon to remember came with the sight of Kyrgios arriving on court wearing pink-trimmed headphones. Things rapidly became even more eye-catching from someone who said afterwards, “I think it’s important to play entertaining tennis. When I’m in that state of mind, when I’m relaxed and playing around, I think that’s when I play my best. I’m focusing but at the same time I’m having fun. I thought I did that in the second, third and fourth sets. I feel you should express yourself, it’s a sport.”
There was not much levity from the 20-year-old Australian in the first set as he squared up to that awesome Raonic serve. His first delivery of the match was clocked at 137 miles an hour and flew off the frame off the Kyrgios racket and high into the stands. But Kyrgios buckled down and appeared capable of extending the set into a tie-break until a disastrous sequence of three double-faults left him a set down.
As solid as a Canadian pine from his homeland, the impassive Raonic continued to crash down the serves in the second set but gradually Kyrgios started the fightback. And with it came an upswing in the crowd-pleasing antics, as well as some impressive serving of his own. Three successive aces averted a Raonic break point in the sixth game but he received a warning after bouncing his racket and seeing it fly into the stands, fortunately without causing injury.
A break of serve which levelled the match sent Raonic off for a toilet break break and a rethink, and also triggered some Kyrgios showboating, as well as hugely impressive play. The combination gradually wore down the Canadian whose serve declined in power in roughly the same ratio as that of Kyrgios improved in accuracy. Two points behind in the third set tie-break, he swept the next six to forge into the lead, a lead he never looked like relinquishing.
When Raonic dropped serve in the fourth set on a double fault and errant backhand, Kyrgios let out a roar, served out for a memorable win and contemplated the prospect of a fourth round against France’s Richard Gasquet, against whom he saved nine match points and then defeated at Wimbledon a year ago. Could that be an omen for another journey into the quarter-finals?
