Nick Kyrgios advanced to the second round of Wimbledon 2022 after coming from behind to beat Britain's Paul Jubb 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, 6-7(3), 7-5 on Tuesday in a little over three hours. A packed house on court 3 witnessed a typical mix of the bizarre and sheer brilliance from the Australian.
He did suffer an early setback however when he lost the opening salvo to Jubb. Kyrgios also lashed out a line judge in frustration at one point, referring to her as "a snitch" who 'had no fans.'
However, Kyrgios fired back in furious fashion to lead 2-1 in sets, ultimately forced to play the maximum after a valiant effort from world No. 219 Jubb. His reward is a second-round fixture against either Filip Krajinovic or Jiri Lehecka, hoping to reach the tournament's third stage for the third time in the past five years.
World No. 40 Kyrgios rarely fails to entertain, though there were times it seemed as though he could suffer a mighty upset at the first hurdle. The Canberra native could be accused of complacency at times, though the edge in quality told in the clutch moments. The 27-year-old recorded 30 aces to Jubb's five and saved 11 of the 13 break points he faced. He also managed to convert five of his six break opportunities, though he committed 20 more unforced errors than his opponent. Kyrgios dedicated his victory to "a couple of people in the crowd," taking his opportunity for revenge over some people were "not shy of criticising" him. "You know who you are," he concluded.
Jubb meanwhile, played a fine match and can be proud of his performance. He made a confident start on serve, as did his opponent five years his senior. With the score locked at 3-3, the world No.40 Kyrgios ramped up his aggression as he attempted to make inroads into the Jubb serve in the closing stages of the set, but the youngster held firm to make it 4-3. Jubb then took the only break of serve in the first set, before the 23-year-old, who made the round of 16 at Queen's earlier this month, stayed composed to serve it out at 6-3, after which Kyrgios smacked a ball out of his sight and out of the arena.
The 27-year-old then had multiple conversations with the umpire at the changeover, something that has become synonymous with his matches. Kyrgios regrouped and asserted his authority in the second set and had no problem breaking the Judd serve this time. In fact, he managed to break multiple times before racing through to take it 6-1.
The second set was a much tighter affair, but Kyrgios crucially broke serve at 5-5, and won the first three points of the game with booming first serves and roared with delight. He tried a drop shot in between the legs, but it wasn’t quite short enough and ultimately resulted in him losing the point. A double fault and a “shut up” comment to the crowd followed, before a scorching forehand winner won him the set 7-5.
Both players produced some magnificent shots and that continued in to the fourth set, and Kyrgios looked to wrap up the match while Jubb, roared on by his home crowd, looked to force a decider. Jubb continued to stay solid on serve and held for 4-3, as he tried to ramp up the pressure on the big-serving Kyrgios. However, the former Wimbledon quarter finallist was up to the task and levelled up at 4-4.
When he had to serve to stay in the fourth set at 4-5, Kyrgios, not afraid to go for aggressive second serves, did just that, one which resulted in an ace, to recover from 15-15 and win the game. Jubb answered with some booming forehands of his own to edge ahead 6-5 in the second set. Kyrgios held serve and the fourth set would end with a tiebreak.
Jubb upped his aggression and launched into some forehands to secure a mini-break and forge ahead 2-1. However, Kyrgios responded with some powerful shots of his own and errors from Jubb allowed him a way back into proceedings. At 3-3, Kyrgios astonishingly made four errors in a row, which meant Jubb won the fourth set 6-3 and levelled the thrilling encounter at two sets apiece. In a topsy-turvy third game at 2-2, the Kyrgios dug deep and saved break points to keep his nose in front at 3-2.
In the following game, Kyrgios produced a delicious cross court backhand winner after Jubb approached the net to bring up break points. Another approach from the youngster resulted in an error and the Aussie edged further ahead at 4-2, before holding serve to leave him just one game away from winning the match.
But to the delight of the British fans, Jubb focred Kyrgios to serve for the match by holding serve for 5-3, and Kyrgios, then buckled under pressure as the world number 219 broke back before levelling at 5-5. He then had to serve to stay in the match after Kyrgios came through a scare to go 6-5 up. But Kyrgios broke Brits' hearts as he landed the final blow by breaking Jubb to win the set and a truly thrilling match.
