Nick Kyrgios has been an ever-present figure ever since he burst onto the tennis scene, but his recent transition into punditry has been a career shift that few expected.
First taking the Australian Open by storm, his decision to join up with the BBC for Wimbledon only highlighted his popularity, despite the 29-year-old being a somewhat polarising figure whilst on the court.
Regardless, he has now taken the time to offer his predictions for the tournament, detailing his favourites, and his dark horses set to enjoy strong runs.
One standout American features.
Nick Kyrgios backs Taylor Fritz for Wimbledon success
Speaking to BBC Sport after Carlos Alcaraz’s impressive first-round victory over Mark Lajal, Nick Kyrgios was pushed for his thoughts on the tournament as a whole.
After all, having first taken the time to praise the Spaniard, even comparing Alcaraz to Roger Federer, before then lauding his Estonian opponent for providing such a threat after coming through qualifying, his co-hosts wanted an expert opinion on who might favour themselves to win the whole thing.
Asked for his favourite, he could not look past the two outstanding names in the men’s draw, yet did offer a couple of alternatives: ‘I mean look, the young guys are looking good. Sinner and Alcaraz probably have my tip, but there’s plenty of dark horses.
‘Hubi Hurkacz we were talking about, Taylor Fritz. There’s plenty of big servers that have found some form right at the right time.’
Taylor Fritz won his third Eastbourne title just last month, and is in good form going into Wimbledon this year.
Which other Americans could succeed at Wimbledon this year?
Given the strong American presence at Wimbledon this year, there is every chance that plenty could succeed and enjoy deep runs in the tournament.
Fritz is the outstanding name on the men’s side alongside Tommy Paul, who won his opening match, whilst Frances Tiafoe will be hoping to exorcise his demons after a truly abysmal 2024 following his remarkable first-round victory over Matteo Arnaldi.
He came back from two sets down to win for the first time in his career yesterday.
Meanwhile, Coco Gauff truly holds the bulk of American hopes, as the headlines a severely weakened women’s draw.
After Aryna Sabalenka pulled out of Wimbledon, Danielle Collins will certainly fancy her chances a lot more, given the Belarusian has thwarted her twice already this year.
Meanwhile, Madison Keys is coming off the back of a fine win too, as well as Jessica Pegula, Emma Navarro and Sloane Stephens.
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