What Next for Kyrgios Following His Wimbledon Near-Miss?

Summer 2022 will be forever remembered amongst sports lovers when Nick KLyrgios announced his talents to the wider world. The often controversial 27-year-old from New South Wales, Australia, has been a household name with dedicated followers of Grand Slam tennis for a few years. Still, it was at the Wimbledon Championships in London when the man picked as the future of tennis finally made his presence known worldwide.

Despite being written off by all major betting apps on the approach to Wimbledon 2022, with leading names like Xbet offering eye-catching odds on the Australian, he came agonisingly close to causing an upset. Nick blazed a trail of glory all the way to the final before coming up short in the deciding match on centre court. Kyrgios was beaten by vastly experienced champion Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s final.

What did we learn about Kyrgios on his journey to the final and that silver medal? Did the Aussie show us anything that would suggest he is closing in on what will be his first Grand Slam in the United Kingdom? Perhaps it was nothing more than a lucky stream in a year when the favourites didn’t perform as well as expected. So, is Kyrgios the man to watch going forward and does he have a chance of winning this year’s next Grand Slam, the US Open played in August and September?

Journey to the silver medal

Kyrgios would go all the way to the final and lose to Wimbledon’s star Djokovic, but there was nothing in his early matches to suggest it was his year. The Aussie huffed and puffed through the first few plays, beating British hopeful Paul Jubb 3-2 in the Round of 128. It was far from convincing, and we’re sure Nick would have liked to be stronger, but he got the win and marched on to Round of 64, where he had an easier time of things.

Nick beat Serbia’s Krajinovic 3-0, and he did it almost without getting out of first gear. It was a polished performance and seemed to spark Kyrgios to life at Wimbledon. That three-love win proved to be just the tonic as he marched on to defeat Tsitsipas 3-1 in an enthralling Round of 32, a bruising encounter that showed the fighting spirit of the winner. The runner-up will look back at that win over the Greek player as an important victory.

With the wind in his sails, Nick improved to beat American Nakashima 3-2 in a fantastic Round of 16 match, then saw off Garin 3-0 in the quarter-final. The next round saw Nick bank his place in the final with a win over tennis legend Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard had been picked as the betting favourite for a semi-final win but had picked up an injury in the previous round and was forced to withdraw. That allowed Nick extra time to prepare for the final, where he would face Djokovic, who beat British number one Norrie in the other semi-final.

In the deciding match of Wimbledon 2022, Serbian Djokovic showed why he’s the best in the business, claiming a three sets to one win over Kyrgios on centre court. It was another title for Novak but a sign of things to come from Nick, who lost the match but won a set in a Grand Slam final and earned millions of new fans in the process.

Next year’s Wimbledon

Will Nick go one better in 12 months time? That remains to be seen, but he has given himself a solid foundation on which to launch his challenge. If he continues to progress at the rate he has been over the last two years, he will come back for Wimbledon 2023 a stronger, fitter and more experienced player.

The bookies respect this and offer Kyrgios as one of the early betting favourites. You can make your predictions on next year’s Wimbledon today.

US Open chances

The US Open is the next Grand Slam on the schedule, and betting apps are offering odds and specials on the event that will be played at the end of summer. Surprisingly, Kyrgios has been written off with Djokovic the favourite and Nick way down the list, priced like he doesn’t have a chance.