It is the fourth round face-off pundits pencilled in from the start at this year’s Championships – Britain’s No.2 seed and former champion Andy Murray trading blows with the talented and highly touted Australian Nick Kyrgios.
On paper, the pair’s head-to-head record reads like one-way traffic. Four-zip in the Scot’s favour, however the Aussie’s self-coined hashtag – #nkrising – has a timely ring to it. This is a 21-year-old who rises to the big occasion. To him it is as much about the centre stage, the crowds, the highlight reels and the big-name scalps as it is the pursuit of continuing a nation’s proud Grand Slam-winning history.
There was no bigger scalp than world No.1 Rafael Nadal when he wiped the Spaniard off Centre Court in his Wimbledon debut two years ago. Murray presents a similarly epic obstacle. Following world No.1 Novak Djokovic’s demise, the No.2 seed is a firm title favourite. Relief, no doubt, that his tormentor has been removed from his potential path to a second Wimbledon crown, the Scot now carries a pressure of which he is unfamiliar, that of title favouritism.
Where Kyrgios has fallen to Murray at each of the other three Grand Slams, this presents their first clash on grass, a surface both thrive on.
Despite the official head-to-head ledger, he did win their last showdown – a straight-sets victory at this year’s Hopman Cup in Perth.
“Obviously, he's one of the best tennis players you can play right now,” Kyrgios said. “I've got a game plan. At the same time, we both know what to expect. It's going to be a really fun match.
“I lost to him at the US Open [in] four sets, I played him in Hopman Cup, beat him there. I definitely feel like he's beatable. He's only human. He's a great athlete. Moves extremely well, he knows the game so well. He's practically a brick wall from the back. He's a great returner, can mix it up.
“The biggest difference is I play a little bit more aggressive to Andy. I don't move anywhere near as well.”
And Kyrgios’s point of bragging rights? “I don't know if he's got the tweener like I do,” he grinned.
This will mark the first time Murray has taken on the young gun with Ivan Lendl in his corner.
Both coach and pupil will have broken down exactly what needs to be done to gain the upper hand in the battle of two of the fieriest players on court.
“Nick (is an) extremely good server,” Murray said. “He doesn’t play with as much sort of slice, and doesn’t come forward... but is a bit more dangerous probably from the back of the court. He is improving all of the time. He likes the big courts, the big matches and has performed well in those situations before.”
Where the two firebrands could make for a testing afternoon for whoever chairs the match, it is a rivalry that could not be more different off the court.
They are good mates, trading healthy doses of British-Aussie banter and sharing a mutual respect for each other’s game and the challenges of dealing with heavy criticism.
Only a day before, Murray took a swipe at some sections of the British press for their treatment of the 21-year-old. “You guys try and wind him up the whole time,” Murray said. “It’s not really fair on him, to be honest. When he makes a mistake, yeah, it’s fine... But it happens a lot where it doesn’t seem like he’s really done much in comparison to what other players are doing — and he’s the one that gets asked all the questions about it.”
With his typical cheeky wit, Kyrgios joked “it was love at first sight” when pressed on how his friendship with Murray first blossomed. On Monday, any banter and bromance will be put on hold.