|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
WIMBLEDONJune 28, 2014Nick KyrgiosLONDON, ENGLAND N. KYRGIOS/J. Vesely THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Can you talk about your excitement about playing Rafa? NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, you know, a lot of excitement. Obviously fourth round of a Grand Slam between us, so it's going to be a good match. (Laughter.) Yeah, I'm overwhelmed with happiness. Making my fourth round at a Grand Slam and the opportunity to play Rafa hopefully on Centre Court, but it's an opportunity I'm just going to embrace. Q. What do you have to do well against him? NICK KYRGIOS: You know, I think my serve is going to be a massive, massive part of that match for me to get into the match, as well. I think I have been serving really well, so I think that's going to be the main thing. Q. What were your thoughts on today's match, how that transpired? Seemed like it was in two halves really, before the rain and after. NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, I think the rain delay played a massive part in that match. He had a lot of momentum. The rain came. I was in the locker room reflecting on what I have to do and change, and, yeah, I thought I played some really good tennis in the last three sets. To come back from a set down, it's really good for me, but I take a lot of confidence out of that, as well. Q. You had obviously the sort of emotion and match points that you saved against Gasquet, was it tough at all to refocus and come back and play another match? How did you handle that? NICK KYRGIOS:  Yeah, it was really tough. I was watching a lot of clips on that match, and, you know, I was seeing it a lot and it was tough for me to put that behind me and focus on today's match. I thought I did really well. I focused fine before the match. I warmed up well. Yeah, I think I dealt with it really well. Q. You seemed to grab at your leg. Everything okay? NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, I think that's just the physical toll playing best‑of‑five sets is going to have. I'm still young, so I'm still getting used to the best‑of‑five sets and trying to back it up. Yeah, actually pulled up quite well. Q. How are you feeling physically versus mentally tired? NICK KYRGIOS: Right now I'm actually okay. I'm physically a little bit sore, but I think that's normal. I'm doing all the right things to keep backing up, and mentally I'm actually fine. I'm just really happy. Q. Can you say something about the crowd? A lot of them slept overnight to get into position to watch you today. NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, the crowd was awesome out there, you know, live. The fanatics, can't thank them enough. They have been there every match going nuts. I really can't thank them enough. They give me a lot energy and spark. To the fans back home, I know it was a tough time for them to watch, 2:00 a.m. in the morning. For everyone back home I can't thank enough either. Q. Last week, you're targeting up to 100 ranking by the end of the year. It's taken you a week. Have you revised your goals? NICK KYRGIOS: I haven't really thought about that. It's a great milestone. I will keep aiming higher and higher. Right now I won't put a number on it. Q. If someone said to you start of the week you would be in the fourth round playing Rafa, what would your response have been? NICK KYRGIOS: I would have been like, God. I really don't know. No answer. Q. You had your headphones when you walk on court. What are you listening to? NICK KYRGIOS: It's usually a mixture of things. Depends on how I'm feeling on the day.  Today was a bit of rap, actually. I came out really flat, so hopefully I won't listen to that again (smiling). Q. What specifically was it today? NICK KYRGIOS: It was actually Drake. Yeah. Didn't do the job for me. Q. Playing Rafa is obviously probably the most physical challenge in tennis. How do you think you will handle that on the back of all the matches you have had already? NICK KYRGIOS: I have a day and a half now to recover. I thought I backed up really well from my five‑set match against Gasquet. Yeah, Rafa is probably the fittest guy on tour, and one of the strongest, too. He will have no worries. I'm just going to go out there. It's grass, so it's a bit more forgiving on your body and the points are shorter. I think I'll be okay. Q. Five pounds for every ace you his is going to the Rally for Bally. How did that come about? NICK KYRGIOS: Me and my agent talked it through. We thought it was a really good idea. You know, seeing that my serve is one of my weapons, it was actually pretty funny. You know, in Nottingham and I hit an ace and I put up a symbol for five pounds on the change of ends. It's been going a long time it's going for a good cause. Yeah, it's all going to a good cause, so it's actually pretty fun. Q. Is this the sort of situation and match you've always dreamed of, Nadal and one of the big courts at Wimbledon? NICK KYRGIOS: Definitely. I never thought that I would be seeing Nadal in my fourth round Wimbledon in my 19th year. I thought it would take years and years of work to finally have an opportunity like that. To think that it's going to happen in about a day is daunting, but so exciting, as well. Q. Obviously you're familiar with his game. Will you talk to him about how you should play him? NICK KYRGIOS: I think my coach will watch some film. I think it's pretty hard to find of Rafa (smiling.) Yeah, I'm just going to go and talk with him, but probably about 20 minutes before I play him. Even tomorrow on the practice court work on a couple of specifics. I think I will work on what I have to take control of myself when I'm out there. Q. Did you know Bally at all, Nick? Why did you want to raise money for the cause? NICK KYRGIOS: I actually didn't know her at all, but, you know, she was part of the tennis family. You know, she would have made a lot of people happy in the tennis world. I think it was a good opportunity for me to show that, you know, I'm a caring guy (smiling). Q. What sense are you getting of the excitement at home about your performances this week? NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, well, my Facebook, my Twitter, my Instagram, is full of messages from people back home, Aussie fans. They are making me, you know, stay motivated. They are giving me good luck, keep going, all that sort of stuff. I think it really does help. You know, my family back home, as well, my mom and my brother, it's a shame they can't be here, but they are also sending me some love. Q. Is there any chance your mom and brother might come over now that you're through to the second week? NICK KYRGIOS: Maybe. They'd have to leave tomorrow. It's a possibility. I haven't heard anything yet. Q. You can go out there and essentially you have nothing to lose, or would you think you would you take a bit of pride in the scoreline? How will you approach it? NICK KYRGIOS: Definitely I will take a lot of pride in the scoreline. Of course I have nothing to lose out there. Anything is possible. I'm just going to go out there and play my game. I think that's definitely enough to be competitive. Q. Nadal has been dropping a few sets recently. Does that kind of give you hope you obviously can win? NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, definitely. It's grass. It's probably, you know, his least favorite surface, but he's extraordinary on it, as well. He's dropped a couple of sets on the way to the fourth round. He's still playing really good, I think. He lost the first set 7‑6. Last sets were all 6‑1. Looking at that scoreline, it doesn't really mean much if you take the first set off him. Q. I'm sure it will be probably on Centre, or No. 1, both big courts. We saw in Melbourne how you love playing up to the big crowd. How do you think can you use that to help you? NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah, I think I thrive on those opportunities to play in front of a big crowd. I love it. I will be interacting a bit with them. It's going to be really exciting. I think, you know, the crowds here are great. You know the fanatics are going to be going absolutely berserk. That will be a lot of fun. Q. Do you believe you can beat him? NICK KYRGIOS: Yeah. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|