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Nick Kyrgios has been the talk of the world over the past two weeks thanks to his Wimbledon run and antics.
The 27-year-old Aussie is through to his first ever Grand Slam final, after 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal was forced to withdraw after sustaining an injury.
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Kyrgios’ run has seen him go from being widely criticised for turning Wimbledon into a circus to being praised for his stellar play.
But on Friday night he took things down a different path.
When he should have been preparing for a showdown with the Spanish superstar Nadal, Kyrgios was instead focused on his Instagram page.
The mercurial Canberran star uploaded a photo showing just how far he’s come from his younger playing days.
Kyrgios’ great mate and Australian Open doubles champion partner Thanasi Kokkinakis recalled the “big fat kid” from back in the day.
“I can remember the first time I saw Nick clearly,” Kokkinakis wrote for Fox Sports.
“I was eight, he was nine, and there was this Kids Cup tournament in Canberra. We both won our regional tournaments, me in Adelaide and Nick in Canberra.
“There was this big, fat kid everyone was talking about who hit the ball hilariously good, watched on by his dad who was decked out in full Jordan gear. And Nick was pretty much what you see now. All the antics, he was that kid.”
It’s not the first time Kyrgios has shown off his younger self on his Instagram account, uploading photos of himself vacuuming and playing Super Nintendo in April.
Kyrgios becomes the first Australian man to make the Wimbledon singles final since Mark Philippoussis in 2003.
His tournament has been defined by breathtaking shot-making but also his familiar rants on court – including a demand that Tsitsipas be thrown out of the championships for hitting a ball into the crowd.
The 40th-ranked player has been fined a total of $14,000 and he now has the added distraction of a looming court appearance in Australia, related to an allegation of assault.
Kyrgios will take on either Novak Djokovic or Cameron Norrie on Sunday night with the final scheduled to begin at 11pm (AEST).
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