In her storied 41 years, Venus Williams can never have experienced anything quite like being part of a double act with Nick Kyrgios.
For starters, when was the last time the great American had the indignity of hearing her doubles partner keep telling her “good serve V!”, ”well played V!” or “Sorry V!”.
And has she ever had to stand by silently alongside a bloke who was getting a code violation for cursing in what had hitherto been genteel mixed doubles fare?
It’s also a fair bet that she’s never been entertained at a changeover by some punter in the crowd serenading her with “C’mon Aussie, c’mon! … C’mon Venus, c’mon!'”.
However, the ageless doyenne of Wimbledon appeared to savour every minute of her first on-court date with her Australian pal, as they ended up in a joyous embrace following their first round 6-3 3-6 7-5 victory over equally cheery US duo Austin Krajicek and Sabrina Santamaria.
“I’m just glad that we got a win today – and she enjoyed herself too. She said she had so much fun,” Kyrgios said after the pair had been laughing and joking animatedly with each other at the changeovers.
What was so funny? “I think half the time she was just laughing at my accent,” smiled Kyrgios.
“We’re very different. I think she’s quite timid and very quiet. I’m a bit, you know, loud and talkative. At least we made it work.”
The new honorary Aussie “V” has already been knocked out of the singles but her combination with Kyrgios, which had come about after the maverick had reckoned he’d always wanted to play alongside the five-times champion and “legend”, really seemed to cheer her up on Friday.
The match was played in a splendid knockabout spirit – until things started to get serious in a deciding set.
Kyrgios just can’t help himself and got into a heated debate with umpire Arnaud Gabas over what seemed to be the length of time during which he was allowed to make a challenge as the “dream team” got broken by their little-known opponents.
“I really wanted to win. Like, I’ve never really wanted to win a mixed doubles or a doubles match that much before,” said Kyrgios, who pushed himself even knowing he has his third-round singles match with Felix Auger-Aliassime on Saturday.
“I was really trying hard.
“The umpire kind of revved me up a little bit. I was very frustrated. So that’s when I kind of put it into fifth gear and really tried to push us over the line.”
The illustrious pair battled back immediately and, amid a series of enjoyable rallies headed by one remarkable rat-a-tat volleying exchange at the net, ended up receiving a standing ovation after one hour 55 minutes.
“It was just a lot of fun,” smiled Kyrgios.
“She’s iconic to the sport and an absolute legend. She’ll go down as one of the greatest players ever to pick up a racquet when all’s said and done.”
AAP
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