Though his playing days are not over just yet, Nick Kyrgios has never truly reached his full potential in professional tennis.
Kyrgios, who will face women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ later this month, is an exceptional talent, but by his own admission, he has failed to put in the hard yards to go with it.
What will the impact on women’s tennis be if Nick Kyrgios wins easily?
The Australian star has claimed only seven ATP Tour-level titles, and has reached a career high ranking of just 13th in the world.
He has reached the final of a Grand Slam before, which he achieved at Wimbledon in 2022, but with his skill set, many would have expected him to have gone all the way at a major at this point.
In 2015, a year after Kyrgios burst onto the scene by beating Rafael Nadal at the All England Club, the then-20-year-old did something that received heavy criticism from tennis legend John McEnroe.
John McEnroe’s criticism of Nick Kyrgios at the 2015 US Open
At the US Open that year, Kyrgios faced Andy Murray in the first round, and was aiming to break the Briton’s serve in the second set after losing the opener.
During a point, Kyrgios played a risky half volley between his legs and fluffed the shot, which McEnroe was not pleased with.
As per the Guardian, the American said Lleyton Hewitt, Kyrgios’ mentor at the time, should have walked out from his courtside box when he hit that shot.
“An absolute brain freeze,” McEnroe called it. “Absolute stupidity. He could have volleyed that away for another break-point chance.”
McEnroe said Kyrgios had the skills of a top-five player but warned that his time is ‘slipping away’ for his chance to challenge for a Grand Slam.
He said: “I hope he learns from these bonehead moves. He should be a seed already, at least 20.
“You don’t want to be remembered as a clown. You want to be remembered as a player. So he better step up. Otherwise, he won’t be talked about too much. He thinks he’s a vaudeville entertainer. I don’t know what’s going on here.”
Nick Kyrgios’ results in Grand Slams since the 2015 US Open
In the six years that followed, Kyrgios’ results did not get much better, with his best being a fourth-round finish, which he achieved three times.
Do you think Nick Kyrgios wasted his talent?
He suffered a number of first and second round exits, and in 2018 he stopped playing singles at the French Open altogether.
However, Kyrgios had his best Grand Slam season in 2022, during which he reached the championship match at Wimbledon.
Kyrgios met Novak Djokovic in the final at the All England Club and managed to take a set off him, but the Serb prevailed to clinch his fourth consecutive crown at the event.
Then at the US Open, Kyrgios knocked out the first seed and defending champion Daniil Medvedev to reach the last eight at Flushing Meadows for the first time in his career.
He was beaten by Karen Khachanov, though, which marked Kyrgios’ last visit to the quarterfinals of a major.
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