Nick Kyrgios relishes reaching a place he never expected | Simon Cambers

NOTick Kyrgios wouldn’t dispute that his path to a first Grand Slam final was rocky. Many of them were self-inflicted, false dawns wiped out by bad behavior or times when he seemed like he wasn’t giving his all. His detractors questioned whether he worked hard enough, wondering if fear of failure kept him from realizing his undoubted talent.

Sometimes Kyrgios wondered if it was all worth it. When he revealed earlier this year that he thought about killing himself and going into depression in 2019, he gave a glimpse into his mind. Along the way, people wondered if he had the desire, the commitment, the dedication required to win one of the greatest titles in the sport.

At 27, the Australian is in his first Grand Slam final, which he did not expect. “I never thought,” he said. “I never thought I would be here at all, to be brutally honest with you. Obviously, when I was world number 1 junior and playing here as a junior… I never thought I would play. I’ve seen some of the pros walking around and I’d be a junior here, and never thought I’d be playing for the men’s title. I feel like this is the pinnacle of tennis. Once you’re able to lift a Grand Slam trophy, it’s like, I mean, what else is there to achieve? So I never thought I would be here. I’m just super proud and I’m just ready to go. I’m going to give it my all and we’ll see what happens.

If Kyrgios never thought he would be here, he always thought he had the ability. He’s a man who beat Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon when he was 19, who beat Roger Federer the first time he faced him and holds a record of 2-0 wins over Novak Djokovic, the man he could play in the final. Of a boy who was struggling with his weight – he posted a photo on Instagram on Friday of himself as a young child – he is one game away from the biggest title in the world.

“I think it’s honestly inspirational for any kind of kid who’s been sort of an outcast or just been surrounded by negative headlines or negative clouds or been shot under many different angles,” he said. “I feel like most people around me at some point in my life lost faith that I would ever make a Grand Slam final, doubted my behavior a little bit or just how I trained myself. I think everyone is safe to say. It’s good that they doubted me, but I never lost faith in myself. I think that’s just a strong message for any child who doubts themselves. Just keep doing it. Look at this picture, I literally look like Manny from Modern Family.

Kyrgios reached the final after Nadal withdrawal by injury, with the Spaniard deciding his abdominal tear would get worse if he tried to play. The move means Kyrgios gets a few extra days off which will help him physically but also break his rhythm. When you go to a first Grand Slam final, it’s not always a good thing.

“I thought about it last night,” he said. “I definitely feel like I played in a pretty good routine. You kind of play a match at a Grand Slam, and then you know deep down that you have a day to wind down and relax, and then go again. At a Grand Slam, you want to have those matches… you want to have the adrenaline. I will have to go to the final without this kind of semi-final experience. But it is okay. I will take all the positives. I rest my body a bit. It’s not bad to go there feeling fresh.

The one thing Kyrgios needs, however, is a good rest. “I probably slept for an hour just with everything, like the excitement,” he said. “I had so much anxiety, I felt so nervous already, and I don’t usually feel nervous.

“One thing is sure, whether I win or lose on Sunday, I will be happy. It’s a great achievement that I thought I would never participate in. Especially at 27, I thought it was the end of my career. But I never thought it would be here. I have a chance.”