After beating Rafael Nadal at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships, Australian Nick Kyrgios became a favourite among tennis fans and pegged him as one of the rising stars in the sport. Australian tennis legend Ken Rosewall is warning the young star that there will be extra pressure when he takes the court in future tournaments.

"I think he'll find out, because of his rapid improvement and performance at Wimbledon and other singles events, that a lot of players will be planning to be in top form when they play against him," Rosewall said to sbs.com.au. "I think there will be extra pressure on him to stand up to being the No.1 player in Australia.”

Kyrgios celebrated victory over Nadal, a four-set, 7-6 (5), 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory in the Round of 16 in London Grand Slam, became one of the top stories of the 2014 season. That victory helped him to clim in the men’s singles rankings and is currently at World. no. 50, his highest ranking since turning pro in 2013.

Rosewall also said that with the success of Kyrgios he’s hoping that other young Australian tennis players will be motivated to work and their games and improve. Rosewall, who is from Sydney, Australia is a former tennis pro who has won eight Grand Slam titles during his career. He won the Australian open four times in 1953, 1955, 1971 and 1972, the French Open in 1953 and 1968, and the US Open in 1956 and 1970. He also made the Wimbledon final four times in 1954, 1956, 1970 and 1974.

Meanwhile, Kyrgios said in a recent interview that top players Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray are still the players to beat in the recently started ATP season.

"The big four are still there, they're still definitely the hardest guys to beat. I think that's going to continue for the next two to three years. People talk about the changing of the guard, but those guys are consistently making finals and winning tournaments,” Kyrgios said to canberratimes.com.au. He also mentioned the likes of Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic as the other guys worth looking out for in the upcoming tournaments.

To email author of this article, contact j.gloria@IBTimes.com.au

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