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Kyrgios, of Greek-Malaysian descent, has spoken often about being taunted as a child for being fat and from an ethnic background and took to Instagram on Friday to post a picture of that kid from some 15 years ago.
"Hungry. I was hungry," Kyrgios smiled when asked what he was like at that age.
"Yeah, I think it's just hilarious because, like, I don't think I'm supposed to be someone like me.
"I look at that photo, I grew up in Canberra, the courts I trained on were horrible, and now I'm in the chance to play the Wimbledon final.
"I think it's honestly an inspiration for any sort of kid who's kind of been outcasted or just been surrounded by negative headlines.
"I feel like it's possible, it's still possible to achieve something quite special if you just believe in yourself.
"I never really lost belief in myself. I feel like most people around me at some stage in my life have lost belief that I would ever make a grand slam final, doubted me a little bit in my behaviour or just the way I trained.
"I think everyone, it's safe to say. That's fine they doubted me - but I never lost belief in myself.
"I think that's just a strong message for any kid who doubts himself. Just keep going.
"Look at that photo, I literally look like Manny from 'Modern Family'!"
Despite his overdue foray to a maiden grand slam final at age 27, Kyrgios doesn't want to be burdened with the expectation of carrying the torch for the next generation after the big three of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and six-times champion Novak Djokovic, his opponent on Sunday.
World sport's most dominant triumvirate boast an incomprehensible 62 grand slam crowns between them.
Kyrgios says the trio can never be replaced.
"I don't think anyone's able to fill those shoes, to be honest with you," he said.
"We've got a great crop of young players coming up. (Carlos) Alcaraz is unbelievable. (Jannik) Sinner, you saw what he's able to do.
"So many younger guys. Even (Brandon) Nakashima, the way he played this tournament.
"I don't think that myself or those guys are able to fill those shoes.
"We'll never see a competitor like Rafa again. You'll never see someone wield a racquet like Roger, so effortlessly. You'll never probably see anyone who just wins and just plays the game just so good as a winner than Djokovic.
"Once they're gone, I'm not sure."
Kyrgios, who teased about retiring if he won Wimbledon on Sunday, hopes he can be allowed to savour the moment if he beats Djokovic.
"I feel like if I ever am able to lift a grand slam trophy, like, please don't put the pressure on me to do another one. Like, I'm not," he said.
Kyrgios said it would be "a sad day" when Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are no longer playing.
"I feel like humans, we take for granted how good athletes are at times," he said.
"LeBron (James), for instance, in NBA, he's been around for 18 years, 19 years almost, at the top of the sport, and we still criticise him.
"Federer, Nadal, Djokovic - these guys are, like, so rare."
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The Wallabies may have threatened a fairytale comeback despite a raft of fresh injuries, but they ended up blowing their chance in a 25-17 rugby Test loss to England in Brisbane.
The visitors led 19-0 in the first half on Saturday but Australia edged to within five points late at Suncorp Stadium, despite four injuries and a yellow card to Dave Rennie's men.
But some costly turnovers when they had all the running hurt the Wallabies, who scored two tries to England's one but had to watch as man-of-the-match Owen Farrell booted six penalties.
Rennie lamented poor tackling, England's early collision dominance and costly late mistakes for the loss.
"I don't want to be here talking about injuries," he said
"That's part of the game and we've had a few but wasn't the reason we lost tonight."
It creates a series decider in Sydney next Saturday when the Wallabies' depth will be tested after a heavy injury toll that had already piled up in Perth's opener.
The much-hyped Jordan Petaia fullback experiment lasted just three minutes before he was concussed making a tackle.
The 22-year-old struggled to get to his feet when he eventually limped off and will almost certainly miss next week's third Test in Sydney.
His injury made it a third fullback casualty for the Wallabies in the series, after Tom Banks broke his arm in Perth and Andrew Kellaway (hamstring) pulled up lame during the week.
Izaia Perese's potential ACL knee injury to begin the second half was another cruel blow for the in-form NSW Waratahs back and Rennie.
The casualty ward was overrun when substitute forward Scott Sio (arm) and lock Cadeyrn Neville (knee) also left the field with issues in the second half.
Perese had earlier received a yellow card for a deliberate knock down, his attempt to intercept Marcus Smith's long pass judged by the TMO as an illegitimate attempt to catch the ball.
It capped a mostly horrible first half for the Wallabies, Ellis Genge's thunderous run to bowl over Michael Hooper setting the tone in the first minute.
Billy Vunipola cruised over in line-out maul to open the scoring before Owen Farrell kicked four first-half penalties to build a 19-0 lead.
Australia's first visit into England's quarter brought a simple try, Taniela Tupou crashing over in his return from a calf injury to make it 19-7 at the break.
Samu Kerevi's try in the 48th minute made it an eight-point game before Smith saw yellow for a deliberate knock-on, when the hosts edged another three points closer.
Then Tom Wright, who shared fullback duties with an out-of-sorts James O'Connor, worked some magic with the play of the night.
His sharp break, long kick and one-handed tackle into touch gifted the Wallabies prime position.
But they handed the ball straight back with Folau Fainga'a's wonky lineout throw and Farrell took three points down the other end to create an eight-point buffer.
Again the Wallabies missed touch after earning a penalty as chances went begging, a forward pass also halting a promising raid in the final few minutes as Australia's unbeaten run at the venue was halted at 10 Tests.
England coach Eddie Jones was pleased with his side's early physicality and late grit to get home.
"It might be the scent from the (nearby XXXX) brewery that encourages the players to get stuck into each other," Jones, unbeaten in five Tests as a coach at Suncorp Stadium said.
Jones said Genge appeared "a little bit annoyed and ... wanted to make a mark on the game" while he said Vunipola "had a good look in his eyes before the game".
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Home owners who bought during the pandemic are being socked from all directions as their mortgage payments rise, property values fall and everyday expenses skyrocket.
"Indebted households are in the grip of a tightening pincer movement, where inflation on essential goods such as fuel and food, together with the rapidly rising cost of debt are squeezing balance sheets," according to CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless.
A borrower with a $500,000 housing debt has seen their monthly payments rise by around $366 a month since rates started rising in April.
The average home loan in Australia in April was $615,304, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
Arrears rates for mortgages have already begun to trend upwards, says Equifax executive general manager Moses Samaha, and first-time buyers are more than twice as likely than other mortgage holders to be 90 or more days delinquent.
"This is in large part because many recent first home buyers entered the market during the pandemic, when rates were low but house prices were high and have not yet had a chance to make significant down payments on their mortgage," he said.
"As a result, this cohort has rapidly felt the impact of rate rises on their comparatively larger mortgages, when compared with households that have had a longer time to pay down their debt and build equity."
Switching to a fixed rate mortgage to escape the rising variable rates may not be a good idea, says Zippy Financial Group director and principal broker Louisa Sanghera.
Fixed rates are already in the four to six per cent range, which is generally well above the current variable rates on offer, even after the three consecutive rate hikes.
"Borrowers should consider whether locking in these significantly higher rates is likely to benefit them in the long term, because no one knows when the current rising interest rate cycle will end," she said.
Closely watched Westpac chief economist Bill Evans is expecting another rate hike in August, possibly followed by a pause in September and October before resuming.
He's expecting they'll peak in February at 2.35 per cent.
Other economists are expecting an even higher mark of 2.6 per cent or more.
Meanwhile dwelling values in Australian capital cities dropped 0.8 per cent in the June quarter, according to CoreLogic, while auction clearance rates for the week ended July 3 was just 53.2 per cent, the lowest since July 2020.
"We continue to see average home prices falling 15-20 per cent top to bottom and this is occurring earlier and faster than previously expected," said AMP chief economist Shane Oliver.
Adding to the pain are rising consumer prices. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said last week inflation had accelerated from the 5.1 per cent read in the first three months of the year.
"Inflation will get worst before it gets better," he said.
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Three men have been charged with drug offences in NSW after police allegedly found $150 million of meth and cocaine hidden inside machinery imported from overseas.
Two of the men were caught while allegedly using an angle grinder to access 230kg of methylamphetamine and 1.2kg of cocaine hidden in the machinery.
The third was arrested nearly a week later in a Sydney hotel. All three were refused bail and are facing courts.
NSW and federal police, along with border authorities, acted on a tip off earlier this month from US Customs.
They say they intercepted a shipment in Sydney and took the machinery apart to find hundreds of kilos of drugs inside, with a street value of $150 million.
The shipment was delivered to a Prestons business last weekend where two men, one aged 21 and the other aged 22, were arrested trying to cut open the machinery and access the drugs, police say.
On Thursday, police executed a search warrant at a Cabramatta hotel and a Prestons business, seizing electronics and cash.
A 41-year-old man was arrested at the hotel and charged with various drug offences.
NSW Police's organised crime squad commander, Detective Superintendent Rob Critchlow, said the bust was possible thanks to the strong relationships the force has with other organisations around the world.
"We'll continue to work closely and slash the profits of those involved in organised criminal activity, putting those responsible before a court and preventing these harmful drugs from reaching our borders," he said.
Australian Border Force Acting Commander Elke West underlined how the arrests showed the value played by strong partnerships in disrupting organised crime.
"The ABF will continue to support and work collaboratively with all law enforcement agencies in Australia and offshore," Acting Commander West said.
"These arrests demonstrate that strong partnerships can effectively prevent and disrupt organised crime syndicates attempting to import illicit substances into Australia."
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