Wimbledon 2014: Nick Kyrgios reminds Pat Cash of young Mark Philippoussis
Melbourne, July 2 (IANS) For Australian legend Pat Cash watching teen sensation Nick Kyrgios knocking out World No.1 Rafael Nadal from the Wimbledon was fun. It revived his memories of another teenager, Mark Philippoussis, who had stunned then World No.1 Pete Sampras in the 1996 Australian Open.
Cash, 1987 Wimbledon champion, recalled a rain-soaked Saturday night at the Rod Laver Arena in 1996 when Philippoussis stunned Sampras in three sets to reach the fourth round. Though 18-year-old Bernard Tomic was the last Australian teenager to enter the Wimbledon quarter-final in 2013, but for Cash, Kyrgios' stunning win over the World No.1 reminds him of Philippoussis' victory against Sampras.
"He blew everybody away, and everybody was in shock from that one, said 'a star is born. And it's the case here as well. That's what it reminded me of, where (Kyrgios) just didn't go away - he kept going for the shots and kept coming up with the goods. It was extremely impressive. It was amazing. It was almost faultless," Cash was quoted as saying by The Age.
There was more praise for Kyrgios, this time from John McEnroe, who was reminded of Boris Becker storming the All England Club for the first of his three singles titles as a 17-year-old in 1985.
"I keep saying 'who's the next guy?' and I think that we've found that guy,'' said John McEnroe on the BBC. "How did he keep that up? He's got to play tomorrow, but let him enjoy this for a couple of hours. This is when it gets a little bit tricky. But he absolutely believed that he was going to win this match, and he's looking to me like he can win this tournament."
Australia's Davis Cup coach Josh Eagle was surprised with Kyrgios' exploits at the All England club.
"It's an amazing effort but, as you know, I've always felt he's been that good. I'm surprised he won, pleasantly surprised, but I still think he had that in him. He's just damn good. There's just no other way to describe it. He's one of those few people he's got those real champion qualities, that has the ability to walk onto the centre court for the first time and win against the World No.1. That's just unbelievable. He's just that good," he said.