What’s Next For Nick Kyrgios?

After playing his first match in over five months, what’s next for Nick Kyrgios? The Australian upset the 21st seed Ugo Humbert of France in the first round of Wimbledon on Wednesday but how far could he go in the tournament?

When the gentlemen’s singles draw came out, many were circling this match between Kyrgios and Humbert as one of the top opening round matches at the Championships. It did not disappoint as the match had to be played over two days due to the 11pm curfew local time in England for Wimbledon. After 3hr, 26m, Kyrgios prevailed 9-7 in the fifth set to advance to the second round.

Kyrgios was up against Gianluca Mager in the second round and defeated the Italian in straight sets while serving 29 aces. His first true test will likely come in the third round where he would either play Felix Auger Aliassime or Mikael Ymer. Kyrgios and Auger Aliassime have only met one previous time but it was on a grass court, however, at Queen’s Club in 2019. Felix won an epic match at 7-5 in the third and final set. Felix is also coming off of a remarkable win against Roger Federer in a tune-up grass court event in Halle two weeks ago. Kyrgios and Ymer have never played against each other.

Can Kyrgios string together a few more solid performances and perhaps make another quarterfinal here at the Championships? It will be tough since Kyrgios is ranked 60th in the world and was not seeded in the tournament like in the past. He’s always very open and honest about only playing a handful of tournaments a year. Kyrgios hadn’t played since the Australian Open in February and tends to have a pretty relaxed training routine. In the press interview after his first round match match, Nick stated that “I compete every day. I compete when I play checkers. I compete when I play Call of Duty. I compete when I play basketball.” Despite only playing a few times this year, the Australian is still wanting to compete at the highest level on the tour.

Whatever happens the rest of the tournament for Kyrgios will surely not come without more headlines as he is one of the best entertainers the sport has to offer. Nick is also scheduled to play mixed doubles with the five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams.