LONDON – A rare extended break between grand slam matches couldn’t have come at a better time for Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon.
A rain-delayed schedule at the All England Club means Kyrgios has been afforded the luxury of two full days off leading into his fourth-round showdown with world No.1 Rafael Nadal.
With the 19-year-old still acclimatising to the physical rigours of the men’s tour, it gives Kyrgios vital recovery time before facing one of the fittest men in world tennis.
The Australian has spent almost nine hours on court in his three matches so far and was visibly feeling the pinch in Saturday’s four-set win over Czech Jiri Vesely.
Still, Kyrgios believes his fitness has come a long way from the start of the year, when he tired badly in a five-set second round loss to Benoit Paire at the Australian Open.
“I’m still young, so I’m still getting used to the best-of-five sets and trying to back it up,” Kyrgios said after a 3-6 6-3 7-5 6-2 win over 68th-ranked Vesely.
“I’m physically a little bit sore, but I think that’s normal.
“I thought I backed up really well from my five-set match against (Richard) Gasquet.
“Rafa is probably the fittest guy on tour, and one of the strongest, too.
“He will have no worries.
“But it’s grass, so it’s a bit more forgiving on your body and the points are shorter.”
Kyrgios had a practice session on Sunday.
His last-16 match against Nadal was expected to be played yesterday but rain forced the postponement of 45 matches, pushing some of the men’s fourth-round matches to today.
