TENNIS (Wimbledon 2014): Teenage sensation Nick Kyrgios dumps World No. 1 Rafael Nadal

Andy Murray logged into Twitter last month and described Nick Kyrgios as the ‘next big Aussie star’. It turns out he might have sold him short.

What happened on Centre Court on Tuesday night — the demolition of Rafael Nadal by a 19-year-old wildcard — was quite remarkable in a global sense.

He started with an ace and closed the show four sets later with another. In between there were a further 35, and 70 winners from the world No 144. It was astonishing.

Not since Andrei Olhovskiy defeated Jim Courier here in 1992 had a player from outside the top 100 beaten a world No 1 at a Grand Slam.

To be clear, Nadal did not play badly. Instead, this was about a fearless player with grass-court tools who never stopped going for the big shot. The surprise was that this Australian, who travels with an Xbox and whose mother gave him no chance against Nadal,  sustained such levels against this particular man.

Nadal is the immovable object, an obdurate beast who chases all lost causes. Not many players can wait out the temperamental storms of talent quite like the Spaniard.

And, it should not be forgotten, Nadal was up to speed. He had a peculiar run to the fourth round, dropping the first set in his three previous matches.

But every time he bounced back with devastating force, giving every indication that once again he would reach the final, as he has on the five occasions he has survived the third round.

The Australian seals 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 victory on Centre Court