"I got literally told to stop by so many people, it wasn't easy to hear and I just kept persevering" - Nick Kyrgios reflects on his early days as a tennis player
Nick Kyrgios has lived up to many high expectations as well as proved many doubters wrong with his career-best Grand Slam run at the ongoing Wimbledon Championships. However, the naysayers have been around ever since the start of his career at a very young age, said Kyrgios, who reminisced about some tough moments from the past.
The Australian player reached his maiden Major semifinal with a victory over Cristian Garin at Wimbledon on Wednesday. Eight years since his maiden quarterfinal appearance at the same Major, Kyrgios has crossed the barrier to move into the final four of the singles draw.
Speaking during a recent interview, the 27-year-old reflected on the early stages of his tennis career. While he was always considered one of the most talented players around, there were always those who declared that he would never scale great heights in the sport.
"I got literally told to stop by so many people, at times my friends were doubting me. It wasn't easy," said Nick Kyrgios, adding that he focused on working hard and proving them wrong.
"At 12, 14, and 16 (years old) you're a kid that's just trying to have fun at the time and you're told that you're not gonna be good or you're not gonna be able to make any stepping stones in the sport. It wasn't easy to hear and I just kept persevering," Kyrgios added.
Kyrgios mentioned a past incident where a former agent recognized his talent but slammed his attitude and behavior on the court. The Australian admitted that he always had the worst results during fitness drills, but despite winning matches in various age-groups, there were those who always reminded him that he would never make it big as a tennis player.
"One of my first coaches and first agents were scouting me playing and the agent said, 'Extremely talented but bad attitude, bad listener.' So always I got told, as I said, as I played through 12s, 14s, 16s, even to 18s as a junior, I was still a little bit overweight."
"I was in the academy and always had the worst testing results with sprints, jumps, weights and everything you could possibly imagine. Got told by teachers and coaches that I wasn't gonna be any good. I was winning matches at the time but they said, 'One day this will catch up to you. You're not gonna be at the top level being in this," continued Nick Kyrgios.
"I never thought I'd be at a semi-final of a Grand Slam"
@NickKyrgios thought his ship had sailed but he's through to the last four
#Wimbledon https://t.co/56fHc7Qqve
Nick Kyrgios has a massive challenge en route to a maiden Grand Slam singles title
Kyrgios will have to defeat at least one, or potentially both, of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic en route to the 2022 Wimbledon men's singles title. Kyrgios will face Nadal in the semifinals on Friday and has beaten him once before at the Grand Slam level, at Wimbledon itself. However, Nadal won their latest clash at Wimbledon, back in 2019.
A first Grand Slam semi-final ✅
@NickKyrgios defeats Cristian Garin 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(5)
#Wimbledon https://t.co/irn1vbb7DP
Meanwhile, Djokovic is the three-time defending champion at Wimbledon and is expected to defeat Cameron Norrie to reach Sunday's Wimbledon final, meaning Kyrgios is highly likely to face Djokovic in the final if he can beat Nadal. In that case, the Australian will need to achieve the rare feat of beating both Djokovic and Nadal to win a Major title.