Two years ago, Nick Kyrgios reached the main draw of a grand slam for the first time. He was 18 years old and ranked 262 in the world, unaware of his potential success. Playing in the biggest match of his career to date in the first round of the French Open 2013, he beat Radek Stepanek, earning his first ATP tour level win. The young Australian from Canberra had experienced victory for the first time. From that moment on, he began to crave more. The world started to recognize Nick Kyrgios.
Over a year later, Nick received a wildcard into the Wimbledon Championships. He progressed into the fourth round, beating Gasquet and Vesely along the way. Kyrgios was about to play the biggest match of his career to date on Centre Court against 14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal. The number one player in the world was out, and Nick reaped the benefits. He broke into the top 100, ranked 66 in the world. He caused a huge upset, and the world's media quickly focused on this teenager. He ended 2013 as number 52 in the rankings. 2014 was the breakthrough year for Kyrgios, but it was just the beginning.
Kyrgios reached the quarterfinals of the 2015 Australian Open. He survived two five-set matches, including a battle against Roger Federer's conqueror Andreas Seppi. Quickly, he was tipped to be tennis' next big star. The success had caught up with him however, as he sustained a back injury followed by an ankle injury, which resulted in him missing a portion of the season. He returned at the Barcelona Open but lost in the first round. Next, he competed in the 2015 Estoril Open where he reached the final but eventually lost to Richard Gasquet.
Nick Kyrgios then traveled to Madrid, unaware of the huge upset he would cause. In the second round, Kyrgios battled through three tiebreaks saving two match points to beat Roger Federer. He had achieved his second huge upset and was now firmly on the radar of tennis journalists across the world.
His increasing success is well deserved. Like all young players, he is ambitious and hard working. However, there's one big question that remains- will he live up to the hype? He's been bombarded with pressure and media attention, enough to drive anybody crazy. He's only 20 years old, and is still figuring himself out as a player and competitor. There's no doubt he has huge potential, but there's danger the hype and excitement will become over excessive.
It's a question that's difficult to answer right now, but based on experience, we think he'll have to battle hard to withstand the pressure. Tennis is desperate for a young talent to break out onto the scene like Nadal did over 10 years ago. He's got an important few years ahead, so it'll be interesting to see how he handles the expectations.