Duke Carnoustie writes:
Scoop, I agree 100 percent that whiners need to toughen up. But then why defend an excuse-making whiner like Medvedev? Anyway onto your other point about Kyrgios relating to fans. I think it's great and like you said, he doesn't need the media to connect to his fans. It would be great to see him win with his attitude since Fed and Nadal - while obviously all-tie greats - have only helped to make the sport look more elitist and just not fun. Tennis needs to be fun to appeal to the masses and Kyrgios is trying to make it fun for himself. It looks like these guys are enduring an ordeal to play these matches too often. I watch baseball and they do balloon animals in the dugout and wear crazy outfits off the field. One player, Chris Archer, had a hilarious "feud" with a mascot. When is tennis fun like this?
I'm sorry, I must be missing something - how did Federer and Nadal make tennis "look more elitist" by being polite, courteous, respectful, gracious, PROFESSIONAL and kind off court while trying to rip each other's heads off on the court? Murray and Djokovic, too, for that matter? Being an asshat because you're a petulant, whiny little child DOES NOT equate to being "fun" or "entertaining" regardless of how much potential he has. If Kyrgios's game can't do his talking for him, then he needs to STHU. But, I'm old school. Walk your talk or just plain walk.
As a fan I'm not spending my hard-earned money to watch spoiled brats whining about how the people who are paying their salaries by buying tickets aren't being "fair" to them or that the media doesn't treat them the same as a 19-20 year veteran who's the all-time greatest tennis player. Sorry, but it's time for Kyrgios and his fellow petulant Aussie Tomic and equally snot-nosed Daniil Medvedev to GTHU, put on their big boy pants and act like adults with a shred of common sense and decency. They're 21-24 MEN not - 11-14 year-old BOYS. If they're not going to grow up and man up - then go work in the real world at a regular job for 6 months and see how they like that. Kyrgios (et. al.) are as privileged and "elitist" as you say Federer and Nadal are - maybe more so. At least Federer and Nadal have EARNED the right to be elitist. What has Kyrgios ever done except be a whinebag and a complainer? And not even a "fun" one at that. At least John McEnroe's brat antics were entertaining up to a point. Nobody can say that about Kyrgios with a straight face.