Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios said Tuesday he was proud of what he achieved at his home Grand Slam and would learn from the experience after being knocked out by Andy Murray.
The composure of three-time tournament runner-up Murray mastered the flashy Kyrgios, winning 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 to progress to a semi-final against seventh seed Czech Tomas Berdych.
But the 19-year-old Kyrgios, ranked 53 but expected to rise in the rankings after reaching the quarter-finals, showcased his extraordinary talents before his home crowd and a worldwide television audience.
Kyrgios beat far more experienced professionals Ivo Karlovic and Andreas Seppi on the way to the last eight against Murray and he is excited by the future.
"Yeah, really proud actually. You know two weeks ago I wasn't even sure I'd be playing the event," he said.
"It just has been a massive couple of weeks just trying to get fit. I'm actually happy. I wanted to win tonight, but having said that, I am just happy that was I was able to compete.
"I was hurting out there, so physicality is a big one. My mentality, I thought I had a couple dips out there. I need to stay consistent."
It was the second quarter-final inside a year for the 19-year-old after he reached the last eight at Wimbledon, becoming the first male teen to reach multiple Grand Slam quarter-finals since Federer in 2001.
Kyrgios said his first intention was to recover from a back complaint before playing tournaments in Marseille and Dubai.
"There's a lot of experience I can draw on when I come here next year," he said.
Source: AFP
