Is Kyrgios ready to roar or flop?

[scoop]

Nick Kyrgios is 22 now and ranked 20 in the world. The tennis world has been waiting for the ultra-talented Aussie to explode like Safin at a major tournament but it has yet to happen outside of the big win at Wimbledon a few years ago vs Nadal.

Since then we have seen countless flashes of the Kyrgios genius. As recently as Miami we saw Kyrgios extend Roger Federer all the way to a 67 76 67 epic semifinal battle. The following week Nick knocked out the USA from Davis Cup by crunching Isner and Querrey in six straight sets in Australia.

But since then Super Nick has been mediocre by his standards. He beat Harrison and Baghdatis but then was smoked by Nadal in the Madrid quarterfinal 6361. Then came a first match loss to Nick Kicker in Lyon and a second round dispatching by Kevin Anderson in four sets at Roland Garros. Then at Queens Nick retired in hi first match with a leg injury after losing a first set tiebreaker to Donald Young.

Since Key Biscayne it’s been sloppy, substandard results by the every unpredictable Kyrgios.

Has the charismatic showman been saving his best for Wimbledon? Or is the sensitive superstar throwing it all away, quite content with his role as an ATP sideshow, and just not ready to play the exhausting role of elite champion/ambassador/politically correct symbol.

Kyrgios has boasted on Twitter that he is not a puppet. But we all know to be an ATP elite champion, a player has to become in a sense a sort of puppet for the ATP, who says all the right words and does all the proper actions 24/7.

A renegade like Marcelo Rios would not survive in today’s politically correct culture. Heck, even a young Andre Agassi would struggle with keeping himself from igniting media firestorms with his words and actions.

Therein lies the intrigue of Nick Kyrgios. Will he continue to flame out on a path to underachieving results like a second round loss to Kevin Anderson? Or will he get his act and his mind together and finally explode like a volcano with a Marat Safin like breakout?

And what will it take to light such a fire under Kyrgios? Thiem and Zverev have passed him by but in Nick’s head he has to believe he’s equal if not better than those two. In his one match vs Thiem, Nick retired at 43 two years ago in Nice. Nick is 2-0 this year and career head to head vs the no 12 Zverev.

Will their success spark Kyrgios? Or would even the Jelena Ostapenko shock in Paris do the trick? Or will Nick follow the path of Bernard Tomic and waste his precious gifts?

The pressure is on Nick at Wimbledon which will reveal quite a bit about the future of this most compelling Australian wonder who says he is only at 65 percent health with his ailing hip. But of course that could be a clever smokescreen to reduce expectations and pressure.

 

[Moxie]

I'm waiting for Nick to break out into full flight, too, but I'm inclined to believe he was ailing as recently as Queens, and might think to get my hopes up more for the North American HC swing. I really hope he doesn't decide that being a renegade and non-complier is worth blowing all that talent.

 

[TFBlogGuest]

catherine writes:

Frst, I suspect Kyrgios has a body which is prone to injury - he's certainly young to be having so many joint problems. He's a much better player than Tomic I would say so I hope the injury problems can be sorted with the right medical/physio help. Mentally, he'll never be a placid character but as you say, who wants that ? Second, I don't agree with the pc issue in the men's game.Men are always shooting their mouths off. Women are much more compliant and sheep-like. When did you last hear a woman player say anything seriously against the WTA party-line ? Puppets all.

 

[TFBlogGuest]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Kokkinakis is younger but more injury prone. I think Kokkinakis has had at least five surgeries. Nick body looks suited for tennis to me. I dont buy all the chatter about his being hunched over bad posture. Hes a physical beast with a spectacular physique for any sport. Funny how these silly notions can gain media traction. Nick is a physically gifted super athlete.

 

[TFBlogGuest]

catherine writes:

I didn't mean Kyrgios isn't exceptionally althletic, and he's never seemed unusually hunched over to me. It's just that sometimes tendency to certain types of injury isn't always apparent and Nick does have hip problems - but then so do a number of other players. And yes, with Kokkinakis you wonder if his body is really up to tennis at the highest level.

 

[TFBlogGuest]

catherine writes:

Nick already struggling at W'don. Could be injury worse than he's said.

 

[herios]

0-2 sets to Herbert, who has been upsetting some pretty good players before, like Thiem.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Could end up being the biggest waste of talent since Philippoussis or Rios. Could win five majors - no idea which route Nick will take.

 

[isabelle]

end of the road for injured bad Nick

 

[TFBlogGuest]

catherine writes:

Laura Robson should really be thinking about retirement.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Why would he bother to play if he's so hurt? Janowicz beats Shapovalov - big win for JJ. Giorgi beats Cornet. Giorgi ready to Ostapenko the draw.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Catherine: Kimiko Date is not even thinking about retirement why should Robson?

 

[TFBlogGuest]

catherine writes:

Laura is struggling to win matches anywhere, this is the third year she's gone out in the 1st round, for which she needed a wc this year, and from the match report I read her movement is really poor. It was never that good anyway. If she's happy carrying on like this, fine. But if not, then give up at least for a for a while and think about alternatives - there are some. Recently saw a piece about young players who won the junior title at W'don - where are they now ? I was surprised to see so many who have made no impact at all in the pro ranks. Laura was one of them.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

She is possibly the slowest pro player I ever saw - must improve her speed and footwork. Her talents above the knees are excellent.

 

[TFBlogGuest]

Hartt writes:

A commentator said Nick has retired from 5 matches in his career so far. That is a lot for a young player and sends serious signals about his injury problems. For all his obvious talent I am not holding my breath for great things from Nick. Between his mental/emotional fragility and his frequent injuries, I think he will have a tough time living up to that talent.

 

[TFBlogGuest]

Chazz writes:

Kyrgios - what a waste. You can't go into major tournaments half-a$$ed. He should have taken a significant time off when these problems started happening so he could get it fixed. This is the 5th tournament in a row he has had to quit in some way.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

The Kyrgios ship is sinking and it's sinking fast. Dan you could have beaten Nick today as he was barely moving for anything. Ryan Bomber Balon would have beaten him too.

 

[Carol]

What a shame, I was waiting for his 36 aces but this time against any player not named Nadal. But I see I was right saying he is not going to be able to repeat that feat not just now but not even in the future

 

[TFBlogGuest]

Chazz writes:

It really is a shame. If you saw his level of play at Indian Wells and Miami, where he beat Djokovic, A. Zverev (2x), Goffin, and played 3 tiebreakers against Federer in a loss, he looked like a future slam winner and showed more athleticism than you'll see anywhere on tour.

 

[scoop]

Scoop Malinowski writes:

Chazz; And now he looks like Tomic after an all nighter at the pub with five girlfriends. A shell of a shell of his once great self.