It’s not just Nick Kyrgios preparing for his match against world number one Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon tonight – his mother Norlaila is also steeling her nerves.
Her 19-year-old son has become first wildcard in five years to the reach the last 16 after his shock win over Richard Gasquet and another stunning performance against 68th ranked Jiri Vesely.
Mrs Kyrgios, a former Badminton champion herself, will be watching the match from her Canberra living room.
She said she is excited, but might not be able to stand the tension.
“I’ll be watching him coming on,” she said.
“But when it comes to the game… I’m fooling myself if I think I’m going sit there and just watch.”
Her son was more collected when speaking ahead of the match.
“I’m ready for the fight,” he said.
“I'm playing some really good tennis out there, especially against Vesely. I don't think I've played that level of tennis before.”
The Australian of Greek and Malaysian heritage has pulled off major upsets before.
The so-called Wild Thing's first ever match at a senior tennis tournament saw victory over the world number eight and before that he captured the junior Australian Open.
Kyrgios now dreams of beating Bernard Tomic's record as the youngest man into Wimbledon's quarter-finals.
