Petulant genius Nick Kyrgios can actually win Wimbledon with Alex de Minaur looming in the quarter final

Kieran Francis

Petulant genius Nick Kyrgios can actually win Wimbledon with Alex de Minaur looming in the quarter final image

Just imagine Nick Kyrgios telling the world how good he is after winning Wimbledon by defeating Novak Djokovic on Sunday.

That scenario is fast becoming a distinct possibility with the controversial Australian slaying his way through the field at the All England Club with some of the best tennis we have ever seen him play - ahead of his fourth-round match against USA's Brandon Nakashima.

Despite regular displays of petulance across all his matches, including spitting at the crowd, berating umpires and line judges, arguing non-stop with his support box and even being accused of being a bully by Stefanos Tsitsipas, Kyrgios is now third favourite to win Wimbledon behind Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

MORE: Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas fined after heated Wimbledon match

It's always been said that Kyrgios has the potential to win a Grand Slam title, but his best result in majors across the last seven years is only the fourth round, meaning the prophecy of potential glory had almost been given up on by the masses as he reaches 27 years of age.

While Kyrgios has only reached the fourth round of Wimbledon 2022 so far, it feels different this time around with every performance showing he can win the entire tournament.

Nick Kyrgios Wimbledon
Getty Images

In the first round against British wildcard Paul Jubb, Kyrgios battled his own nerves, fought with the umpire and line judges, spat at the crowd and looked to be on the brink of crashing out at the first hurdle before rallying to get the job done.

Versus 26th seed Filip Krajinovic in the second round, Kyrgios absolutely destroyed the Serbian, who reached the final of Queen's prior to Wimbledon, losing only eight points on his serve for the entire match and smashing 50 winners to only 10 unforced errors.

These kind of statistics are usually only produced when a player is taking on an opponent much weaker than them, not Kyrgios (world No.40) versus Krajinovic (world No.31).

In his defeat of fourth seed Tsitsipas in the third round, Kyrgios showed incredible resilience to win a match he would have almost certainly lost in recent years.

MORE: Nick Kyrgios holds up match vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas at Wimbledon to scream at umpire: 'You're a disgrace'

After losing the first set, the Aussie struggled to contain his emotions but he continued to play some unbelievable tennis, for once not letting his mental state affect his game, and managed to claw his way back into the contest.

Even after Kyrgios got two-sets-to-one up up, Tsitsipas threatened to take the match to a fifth, by having four break points, including a set point, on Kyrgios' last three service games - that all went 0-30 to the Greek in the first two points.

But each time Kyrgios was in trouble, he would manage to serve his way out or play a crushing groundstoke to not allow Tsitsipas back into the contest.

The fact Kyrgios' game held up despite an array of emotions, controversies and high-pressure situations just shows much he is a threat at Wimbledon - and how much he wants to win it.

MORE: Nick Kyrgios hits back at 'bullying' claims from Stefanos Tsitsipas

Kyrgios vs Tsitsipas
Getty Images

Nakashima won't be an easy opponent for Kyrgios in the fourth round, but the American has never reached this stage of a major before and the match will certainly be decided on the form of the Aussie.

MORE: Kyrgios hot favourite against Nakishima to get through to Wimbledon quarter-final

A potential all-Australian quarter final for Kyrgios against Alex de Minaur could be on the table, if the 19th seed manages to defeat Chilean clay-courter Cristian Garin.

Nadal or Taylor Fritz are the most likely semi-finalists for Kyrgios to negotiate if he gets that far, before Wimbledon favourite Djokovic will be waiting most likely in the final.

It might seem ambitious to lay out a path for Kyrgios to win Wimbledon, but he deserves it on what has been seen on his performances at the All England Club so far.

There is no doubt the potential for Kyrgios to crash and burn due to his emotions is still a possibility as we've seen him beat himself on many occasions before.

He could also run into tennis legends Nadal (potential semi final) or Djokovic (potential final) at some point, with losing to either of these phenoms no disgrace.

But the minimum achievement for him, after what he has produced so far, is to reach the semi-final - comfortably accounting for Nakashima and a likely quarter final against De Minaur.

Is Kyrgios a good role model? Hell no.

Is Kyrgios' conduct on the court always acceptable? Definitely not.

Can he win Wimbledon? Yes.

And just imagine the scenes if he does.

Kieran Francis

Kieran Francis Photo

Kieran Francis is a senior editor at The Sporting News based in Melbourne, Australia. He started at Sportal.com.au before being a part of the transition to Sporting News in 2015. Just prior to the 2018 World Cup, he was appointed chief editor of Goal.com in Australia. He has now returned to The Sporting News where his passions lay in football, AFL, poker and cricket - when he is not on holiday.