“Basketball is my meditation but at the same time, it’s good fitness as well”: Nick Kyrgios gave major credit to basketball as he reached Wimbledon Finals

Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios, set to face Novak Djokovic for his first singles Grand Slam title loves basketball and gives it credit for this deepest run.

Nick Kyrgios is one of the baddest athletes on the planet. The 27-year-old Tennis star would sometimes perform like there is no better player in the world, and sometimes just blow the games away because he doesn’t feel like winning.

That might be absurd to know about a professional athlete who is one of very few (3) to have beaten each one of the Big Three of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal, that too, the first time he played against them. But he does some things on and off the court which sends fans and athletes into a frenzy.

Kyrgios is a controversial player famous for his epic displays of ranting, racquet-wrecking, and trash-talking. According to Tennisheal, he has received more fines for his temperamental on-court behaviour than any other player in ATP history.

The world #40 who never reached the semifinals of a grand slam is now about to face Novak Djokovic in the Finals of 2022 Wimbledon due to an abdominal injury to Nadal.  He defeated world #5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the earlier rounds, making the biggest upset. He gave huge credit to basketball for his deep run in the tournament.

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His love for basketball led Nick Kyrgios to get bullied by NBL players which were one of his secret preparation for the Wimbledon

The Australian sensation is pretty open about his love for the Boston Celtics, who lost the NBA Finals Series 4-2 to the Golden State Warriors last month. Nick is obsessed with his team, so much, that he lost an ATP World Tour game against Hubert Hurkacz after the Celtics lost Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

But according to him, basketball is also one of the biggest reasons why he is having the time of his life on one of the grandest stages for Tennis, as he stands a chance to win a Grand slam for the first time since he made his debut.

“Basketball is my meditation but at the same time, it’s good fitness as well. People don’t realise that defensive slides and defensive movements of basketball are almost identical to the way people move on a tennis court,” said Nick.

Tsitsipas did not take his third-round loss to Kyrgios well, complaining that the polarizing Aussie star was ‘evil’ and a bully. The Aussie laughed at the idea, slamming Tsitsipas as ‘soft’ and suggesting his own crew of professional and semi-professional basketball players from the NBL as the real bullies.

‘Nick’s not the bully. I’m the bully’: The basketball crew that prepared @NickKyrgios for Wimbledon assault https://t.co/1eeMEdUUsH

— Michael Chammas (@MichaelChammas) July 4, 2022

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About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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