Worrying Nick Kyrgios moment after surreal Wimbledon scenes
Nick Kyrgios left many in the tennis world wondering how his shoulder will hold up in the quarter-final after looking in distress during his arduous fourth round Wimbledon victory.
Kyrgios battled through one of his toughest grand slam matches to defeat American rising star Brandon Nakashima 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-2.
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The World No.40 was evidently bothered in the second set when his shoulder injury hampered his movement.
The Aussie was able to navigate his way through the match with the help of his booming serve after he vocalised that he couldn't hit a forehand without pain.
Kyrgios received treatment from the second set onwards, but showed he wasn't ready to let this Wimbledon opportunity slip through his grasp after closing out the match in emphatic fashion.
The match was also played in stark contract to his first and third round encounters with the Centre Court crowd trying pick up the Aussie and cheer him to the finish line in surreal scenes.
However, the shoulder has certainly raised questions on whether Kyrgios will be able to bounce back in under 48 hours to face unseeded Chilean Cristian Garin in the quarter-final.
Kyrgios will be desperate to get back into condition with his best ever chance of reaching The Championships' semi-final against an opponent who also endured an arduous five-set battle.
Many fans praised Kyrgios for his fighting spirit during the match.
Others questioned whether he will be able to turn it around in time after appearing in lots of pain.
Kyrgios grabbing at his right shoulder quite a bit now.
People have talked about whether or not he'll hold up mentally, but holding up physically has also been a challenge in his career.#Wimbledon— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) July 4, 2022
This match doubles as product placement for painkillers...Kyrgios' shoulder may not last three more rounds. But he's serving better/harder now than in first set.
— Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) July 4, 2022
Now Kyrgios is soft for showing he's got a sore shoulder 🤷 literally any excuse hey #Wimbledon
— Daniel Brettig 🏏 (@danbrettig) July 4, 2022
For Kyrgios to stay locked in for five sets today given how bad his shoulder was at the start is so impressive. One of the most committed and gritty performances I've seen from him (especially given he was nowhere near his best but is finding a way) #wimbledon #Wimbledon2022
— Kiran Gupta (@kirangupta_) July 4, 2022
If Kyrgios's shoulder pain was nothing serious and he stays injury free, he can win the whole thing.
Nick and Fritz are the only guys that have a chance against Djoko. Yeah, I don't think Rafa stands a chance. #Wimbledon— Ali Appleseed (@ali_appleseed) July 4, 2022
Kyrgios really feeling at his shoulder quite a lot through that first set.
Really hope it's nothing serious and just him warming into the match. #Wimbledon— Lachlan McKirdy (@LMcKirdy7) July 4, 2022
Kyrgios keeps touching his right shoulder...
Not looking good.— José Morgado (@josemorgado) July 4, 2022
Kyrgios went on to admit that he dug deep during the match in order to advance to the quarter-final.
Nick Kyrgios dig deep during tough Wimbledon match
Commentator Todd Woodbridge was left baffled after he accused Kyrgios of tanking the fourth set, with fears of an all-too-familiar meltdown on the cards.
However, Kyrgios said he didn't want to give up during the match with a chance to reach the quarter-final on the line.
“He was playing really well. I wasn’t playing that great. But I was almost enjoying the competitiveness,” Kyrgios said.
“That’s probably the first time in my career where I wasn’t playing well, regardless of playing Centre Court Wimbledon, fully packed crowd, (and) I was able to just say, ‘Wow, look how far I’ve come’, to myself.
"I was bouncing the ball before I served. I really just smiled to myself. I was like, ‘We’re here, we’re competing at Wimbledon, putting in a good performance mentally’.”
Kyrgios went on to say he would enjoy a glass of wine after the match and rest up.
"I've been here before, done it before and that is what I was thinking about," Kyrgios told his fans afterwards.
"Nowhere near my best performance, but I fought through, and the crowd were amazing.
"I have played a lot of tennis in the last month and a half and I'm just proud with how I played (with the injury)."
Kyrgios has now made the quarter-final stage at Wimbledon on two separate occasions.
His last quarter-final appearance at a grand slam stretches back to the 2015 Australian Open.
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