The Curious Case of Kyrgios

Is the youngster ready to take the ATP by storm?

May 23, 2016 | By Brian Coleman

In the final scene of “A Bronx Tale,” the story’s protagonist, Calogero Anello, says the greatest gift he received from his father Lorenzo was learning that the saddest thing in life is wasted talent.

While that line was a parallel for life, the same parallel can be made in the venue of sports. The window of opportunity for athletes is so small, and one poor decision or action can close that window in a hurry.

Enter Nick Kyrgios, the provocative and entertaining Australian, who has made quite a name for himself, both positive and negative, in his few years on the ATP Tour. In an era dominated by players who represented the sport the way it wanted to be represented, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, Kyrgios has become a modern bad boy of tennis.

At 6’4’’ and 187 pounds, Kyrgios’ talent and power shined through early in his career. In 2014, his first full year of playing ATP tournaments, he made his way into the Wimbledon quarterfinals, beating Rafael Nadal to reach the final eight. The win made Kyrgios the first male to advance to the Wimbledon quarterfinals in his tournament debut since Florian Mayer did so in 2004. Kyrgios was just 19-years-old.

“I think I was in a bit of a zone out there,” he said after that match. “I didn’t really notice the crowd out there. I played some extraordinary tennis. You’ve got to believe you can win the match from the start.”

That sort of confidence has always been a part of Kyrgios’ game, and it has allowed for his meteoric rise. But that confidence can sometimes morph into cockiness and stubbornness.

Kyrgios is as talented as they come. He rips a forehand with as much energy as one turns a doorknob and has the length and agility to cover all areas of the court, but oftentimes, he has found himself on the wrong end of a controversy.

The year following his run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals, Kyrgios was back at the Queen’s Club, this time with much bigger expectations as the 26 seed. He would lose to Richard Gasquet 5-7, 1-6, 7-6(7), 6-7(6) in the fourth round, but it was performance, or lack thereof, in the second set that drew attention.

Kyrgios was accused of tanking during the second set, as he failed to return or even attempt to return a number of Gasquet’s serves. The Australian denied the claims, and brushed off questions from the media about it afterwards.

Andy Murray came to the defense of Kyrgios afterwards, saying what you see on the court doesn’t always tell the whole story.

“I don’t think people always appreciate how difficult it is to grow up under the spotlight, how difficult it is to have loads of people expecting you to be perfect from a young age,” said Murray. “I like Nick. I’ve spoken to him away from the court. He’s quite different from how he is on it. Some people like the way he behaves, some people don’t. When you’re 19-years-old, you don’t know exactly who you are. You just need a bit of time to develop. I am sure, in the next few years, he will start to calm down a bit on the court and learn to use his emotions more positively.”

Just a couple of months after that, however, Kyrgios made himself known to not just tennis folks, but to mainstream media as well. During a match against Stan Wawrinka in Montreal at the Rogers Cup, on-court microphones picked up Kyrgios making some disparaging remarks about Wawrinka’s then-girlfriend, fellow tennis player Donna Vekic. Following the incident, the ATP gave Kyrgios a 28-day suspended sentence, fined him $10,000 and he drew the ire of a number of players around the world for his disparaging remarks.

In Davis Cup play in early March, Kyrgios missed the Australian tie against the United States because he was sick. His compatriot and fellow Davis Cup player Bernard Tomic accused Kyrgios of faking the illness in order to rest up for the following week’s BNP Paribas Open.

Most recently, at the Miami Open, Kyrgios called the game biased after he received a code violation for hitting a ball into the stands.

“Anyone else, like if Rafa did that, you would keep it cool,” Kyrgios told the chair umpire in Miami. “This game is as biased as anything. You all know it as well.”

All of these events, outbursts and incidents, portray Kyrgios in a less-than-favorable light. But there is always more than meets the eye, especially with professional athletes.

“Not at all, to be honest,” Kyrgios said when asked if he considers himself a so-called “bad boy.” “Just because I show emotion out on the court, I’m bad? So, whatever.”

Kyrgios has his hands involved in numerous charities that help under privileged children, cancer research, and specifically, the Elena Baltacha Foundation, which helps make tennis accessible for children from all backgrounds.

Last summer, Kyrgios came to New York for the John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA) Benefit Night, and dazzled fans with his fun style of play and big smile. The event came soon after the Kyrgios incident with Wawrinka, and it showed Kyrgios’ love for the sport and its fans.

Kyrgios said he is working on toning down his temper, and that is something that will continue to develop as his young career evolves.

“He is getting better, but it’s not really him and it’s something he hates about himself,” Kyrgios’ former coach Joshua Engle told an Australian radio station. “He wishes he could control it, but it’s still there and he is trying to get better at it. You have to understand that he burst onto the scene so quickly and when he gets under pressure, it’s magnified. Sometimes, he just doesn’t know how to handle it. It’s such an old school sport that when someone different like Nicky comes along, it really does show up.”

There is no questioning the talent level and skill set possessed by Kyrgios, and it has been seen already. He has been to two Grand Slam quarterfinals and has won a title at the Open 13 in Marseille, France.

He is part of a young crop of Australians hoping to follow in the footsteps of the great Lleyton Hewitt, and with Hewitt as the nation’s Davis Cup captain, he may be working closely with the enigmatic Kyrgios. If the 21-year-old can harness his emotions and frustrations into positive energy onto the court, the sky really is the limit for the young Australian star. 


Brian Coleman

 Brian Coleman is the Senior Editor for New York Tennis Magazine. He may be reached at brianc@usptennis.com

Oneononedoubles banner art resize
USTA NTC

January/February 2024 Digital Edition