The sophomore slump is an unfortunate yet all too common phenomenon in professional tennis. Time and time again we see players enjoy a breakthrough result or an impressive season, only to struggle to replicate it when there are more eyes upon them, and expectations that they should continue to climb higher.
Nick Kyrgios, however, has largely avoided it. In fact, in 2015, he has improved.
Dazzling the tennis world last year at Wimbledon with his defeat of world No.1 Rafael Nadal to reach the quarter-finals, Kyrgios has since made a second last-eight Grand Slam appearance at the 2015 Australian Open, cracked the world’s top 30 for the first time, and returned to the second week at the All England Club, beating No.7 seed Milos Raonic along the way with a serving and shot-making masterclass.
It is, therefore, a sign of his competitiveness and the high standards he demands of himself that he would express such bitter disappointment at his fourth-round loss on Monday to Richard Gasquet.
“Yeah, it hurts. You never want to go out of a Grand Slam. I feel like I definitely could have done better,” he reflected following the 7-5, 6-1, 6-7(7), 7-6(6) defeat to the Frenchman. “I don't take much out of (the tournament). I expected more out of myself. I feel like I've let people down. It's tough.”
Despite all that, he actually wasn’t that far off winning.
I think everyone has a bit more fun in the doubles... It completely changed my day around
Having dismissed two match points in the third set - evoking memories of his nine-match-point-saving extravaganza of the previous year against Gasquet in the second round - he later held two set points to send the match into a fifth.
Many fans would have backed him in the decider, given what had transpired 12 months earlier.
The performance on Monday – and the earlier victory over Raonic – was yet more proof of the bona fide winning talents the 20-year-old possesses. He backed up the Nadal victory with an exciting three-set upset of world No.2 Roger Federer at the Madrid Masters in May, and has now cemented himself as a seeded force at the Grand Slams, one that is capable of going deep on the biggest stages.
When asked about the US Open, he said he was not thinking about it. Instead, Australia’s looming Davis Cup quarter-final against Kazakhstan is his next major priority, a chance to help send his tennis-loving nation into the semi-finals of the team competition for the first time since 2006.
He even sees an opportunity to win the whole thing.
“I think having (Sam) Groth, as well as Thanasi (Kokkinakis) is playing some good tennis as well. It's unfortunate not to have Bernard (Tomic). Obviously with Lleyton (Hewitt) there as well. We have a lot of depth. With (James) Duckworth as well,” he observed.
“We have a good coach there, as well. I think we can go far.”
With the pressures that come from developing his game and career in the spotlight from such a young age, Kyrgios has been something of a combustible figure this fortnight, and a divisive one.
There were clashes with chair umpires in his first, second and fourth-round matches and warnings for a variety of code violations.
Many love the colour he brings to the game; others find he crosses the line. Kyrgios admitted he had found the extra attention draining. "It's been an emotional couple of weeks," he said.
During the Wimbledon fortnight, he sought stress relief. He hugged a ball boy during the Gasquet match - "I just felt like a hug, I guess. Everyone now and then wants a hug," he explained - and flourished in an exciting mixed doubles partnership with Madison Keys. The pair advanced to the second round before falling 10-8 in the third set to Lukasz Kubot and Andrea Hlavackova on Monday.
“I think everyone has a bit more fun in the doubles... It completely changed my day around today playing with Madison. She's awesome. I had so much fun out there, which is really good,” he said.
“I think she's an extraordinary player. She's obviously young. She has all the tools to become a Grand Slam champion.”
So too does Kyrgios himself. The booming serve, point-ending power and big-stage mentality have served him well so far and are precisely the ingredients that prompted former world No.1 Mats Wilander to just recently declare that fans were witnessing a potential all-time great.
High praise – and pressure – indeed. Yet the sting of his fourth-round departure at the All England Club will no doubt motivate the already hard-working Kyrgios to emerge on the other side even stronger.
Wimbledon 2016 could be where it all comes together.
