The Graduation of Nickie K.

Luxilon Borg

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Nickie K. The player my wife described as a "thug"...lol..the player that had me shaking my head on numerous occassions in bewilderment.

Well, Nickie K. has graduated. At the start of the Marseille tourney I said to my self.."you have quite a strut for a guy without a title...win something....".

He did. He impressed me on so many fronts. His focus, concentration, and commitment..his competitive edge....were simply at an elite level. Except for a total of 10 minutes over the course of two matches, where he flirted with madness, he was exceptional.

And the tennis...his movement, shot selection, defensive skills, offense, and score awareness were just way beyond what I thought he was really capable of.

I believe he really went into the trenches after the AO. His strokes are cleaner, his movement more precise, and his timing were off the charts.

Paul Annacone proclaimed Nick was the best 20 year old server he had ever seen since Sampras, and I agree. His accuracy and power were astonishing.

Come to the podium and accept your diploma Nick. Now, let's see if you can do this more than once.


Nick-Kyrgios.jpg
 

Kieran

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Well, he has to start somewhere, doesn't he? Nobody likes a punk who's won nothing, and finally he's gotten a taste for it. I think in general Nick is popular because he's gutsy and unafraid of players reputations, and as brother Fiero keeps reminding us, he's still only a gormless angry kid, and acts like one, so maybe we should get off his back and allow him some room to grow.

Glad he won an event. He has all the tools and attributes to be a gigantic tennis star - and legend. Maybe this is where he finally starts to figure it all out?
 

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Well, I don't like him and don't think he is that good, but he did beat a lot of good players to win this, so hats off to him.
 

Luxilon Borg

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Kieran said:
Well, he has to start somewhere, doesn't he? Nobody likes a punk who's won nothing, and finally he's gotten a taste for it. I think in general Nick is popular because he's gutsy and unafraid of players reputations, and as brother Fiero keeps reminding us, he's still only a gormless angry kid, and acts like one, so maybe we should get off his back and allow him some room to grow.

Glad he won an event. He has all the tools and attributes to be a gigantic tennis star - and legend. Maybe this is where he finally starts to figure it all out?

This could be the starting point. And to be quite honest, as much as I have reservations about him, he is a welcome addition to the game..a good contrast to the boring methodical approach of Raonic, the empty swagger of Sock, and the drama king Zverev.
 

Luxilon Borg

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mrzz said:
Well, I don't like him and don't think he is that good, but he did beat a lot of good players to win this, so hats off to him.

Here is the problem..he IS that good. I don't love his approach either..but it is not just that he beat thee players, it is how he wiped the court with them and showed racket skills way beyond what I thought he had.
 

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It is also worth noting that his title was the first of his entire generation, or any player born in 1994 or later.

Anyhow, this is exactly the type of confidence booster that can push a player up a tier. I would think it very possible that we see at least a top 20 finish this year, if not top 10ish. I think the question is whether he will stabilize with the Berdychs and Tsongas of the world, or if he can be even better. He certainly looked better.
 

Luxilon Borg

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El Dude said:
It is also worth noting that his title was the first of his entire generation, or any player born in 1994 or later.

Anyhow, this is exactly the type of confidence booster that can push a player up a tier. I would think it very possible that we see at least a top 20 finish this year, if not top 10ish. I think the question is whether he will stabilize with the Berdychs and Tsongas of the world, or if he can be even better. He certainly looked better.

Thanks for pointing that out. Very interesting to note.
 

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Luxilon Borg said:
mrzz said:
Well, I don't like him and don't think he is that good, but he did beat a lot of good players to win this, so hats off to him.

Here is the problem..he IS that good. I don't love his approach either..but it is not just that he beat thee players, it is how he wiped the court with them and showed racket skills way beyond what I thought he had.

Well, I haven't saw any of his matches on this tournament, but I have seen him play before, as recently as AO 2016. And, up till then, IMO, he was not that good. Maybe he has found an extra gear, maybe it is just a good week. Time will tell.
 

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Well it looks like Klizan had good reason to wet his pants....NK on and off the court in 90 min flat against a fresh opponent....Ok..well he played a jet lagged first set...barely made an attempt to move for any ball, then flicked a switch and had Klizan going bonkers for the next two.

Miraculously, the focus, excellent shot selection, percentage play, and big serving continues.
 

Kieran

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Two wins against Berdy. I would have liked him to beat him at oz too, since Berdy's limitations are well-known, but this is definite progress for Nick. He seems to be on a roll. It'll depend on how he behaves when he's not on a roll...
 

Luxilon Borg

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Kieran said:
Two wins against Berdy. I would have liked him to beat him at oz too, since Berdy's limitations are well-known, but this is definite progress for Nick. He seems to be on a roll. It'll depend on how he behaves when he's not on a roll...
Yes, let's see how long he can "keep it together"....so far two weeks and no meltdowns...

Two titles in a row would certainly be very impressive.

Although the back seems to be an issue....
 

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Luxilon Borg said:
Kieran said:
Two wins against Berdy. I would have liked him to beat him at oz too, since Berdy's limitations are well-known, but this is definite progress for Nick. He seems to be on a roll. It'll depend on how he behaves when he's not on a roll...
Yes, let's see how long he can "keep it together"....so far two weeks and no meltdowns...

Two titles in a row would certainly be very impressive.

Although the back seems to be an issue....

Correct. He is a big talent, no question about that, but staying fit, will be an issue. he retired against Wawrinka, and apparently he played poorly, nothing like until this point.
 

Luxilon Borg

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herios said:
Luxilon Borg said:
Kieran said:
Two wins against Berdy. I would have liked him to beat him at oz too, since Berdy's limitations are well-known, but this is definite progress for Nick. He seems to be on a roll. It'll depend on how he behaves when he's not on a roll...
Yes, let's see how long he can "keep it together"....so far two weeks and no meltdowns...

Two titles in a row would certainly be very impressive.

Although the back seems to be an issue....

Correct. He is a big talent, no question about that, but staying fit, will be an issue. he retired against Wawrinka, and apparently he played poorly, nothing like until this point.

Ah, spoiler!!!

Well, I knew it was going to take a miracle for him to recover against Wawrinka..he looked like he was in pain.

I think he may have long term issues..his posture is rather odd.
 

herios

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Luxilon Borg said:
I think he may have long term issues..his posture is rather odd.

Yup. Remember, two years ago, when he burst on the scene at Wimbledon, he was out of the tour a lot, citing injury. I have called him a part time player.
To be an elite player, you need to be fit week in and week out, for about 10 months, So far he was not capable of doing that.
 

Luxilon Borg

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herios said:
Luxilon Borg said:
I think he may have long term issues..his posture is rather odd.

Yup. Remember, two years ago, when he burst on the scene at Wimbledon, he was out of the tour a lot, citing injury. I have called him a part time player.
To be an elite player, you need to be fit week in and week out, for about 10 months, So far he was not capable of doing that.

Ok, yes, but let us remember he is only 20..no where near physically mature.

It is easy to forget how many physical issues Nish, Raonic, and even Joker had.

If anything, Nish was a "part time player" until he go his act together.
 

herios

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Luxilon Borg said:
herios said:
Luxilon Borg said:
I think he may have long term issues..his posture is rather odd.

Yup. Remember, two years ago, when he burst on the scene at Wimbledon, he was out of the tour a lot, citing injury. I have called him a part time player.
To be an elite player, you need to be fit week in and week out, for about 10 months, So far he was not capable of doing that.

Ok, yes, but let us remember he is only 20..no where near physically mature.

It is easy to forget how many physical issues Nish, Raonic, and even Joker had.

If anything, Nish was a "part time player" until he go his act together.

Of course, it is possible to strengthen his body. We will see if he will do that.
 

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Technically, yes. But I'm thinking Front was jesting and not implying anything. Unless one of the other mods disagrees, let's leave it for now but move along...nothing to see here.
 

GameSetAndMath

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El Dude said:
Technically, yes. But I'm thinking Front was jesting and not implying anything. Unless one of the other mods disagrees, let's leave it for now but move along...nothing to see here.

Come on, there is just flavored water in that syringe! Besides, ITF feels that some flavors may be against the spirit of the sport, but completely legal. :cool: