Kyrgios Out Of Australian Open

R

reaper

Legend
Having failed to recover from a wrist injury which from memory first saw him withdraw from Wimbledon last year. It's a long way back if that's the case for a guy not known for his pain tolerance.

www.smh.com.au

‘Heartbreaking’: Australian Open blow as Kyrgios pulls out

Nick Kyrgios has made official the Australian Open’s worst fears, announcing he will not play in next month’s grand slam as he recovers from a serious wrist injury.
www.smh.com.au www.smh.com.au
 
tennis3 said:
This was Australian Open's "worst fears"?
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A bit of projection in that quote. The newspaper it's printed in is owned by the same media company that owns the broadcasting rights in Australia for the Australian Open. So when they say it's the Australian Open's worst fear, what they mean is that their marketing vehicle has gone up in smoke.
 
I'm beginning to think Nick may never play another professional match. He was pretty good as a commentator on American TV and received a lot of praise, maybe he's transitioning into becoming a broadcaster. Such incredible talent, he just never got his head together. Always was a fan, he was so exciting when he was engaged and playing well.
 
tennis3 said:
This was Australian Open's "worst fears"?
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I know it seems like a little bit of hyperbole, but in Australia Kyrgios (when he is playing well) would be probably the third most popular men’s player behind Federer and Nadal at the moment. With Federer gone, Nadal’s health in question, an argument could be made that locally Kyrgios may have ended up being the biggest drawcard.

Not saying it’s a good or bad thing, just that Kyrgios is a bigger drawcard than people think. And it goes up a level at his home major.

Alcaraz, Sinner, Rune etc etc are global superstars to us tennis fans but they would still be relatively new names to the huge amount of seasonal tennis fans that are a big source of ticket sales / viewing figures in Australian tennis summer. Particularly Alcaraz who didn’t play here last year. And Djokovic, Murray, Tsitsipas are all big names here but don’t go nuclear in the same way.
 
BeatlesFan said:
I'm beginning to think Nick may never play another professional match. He was pretty good as a commentator on American TV and received a lot of praise, maybe he's transitioning into becoming a broadcaster. Such incredible talent, he just never got his head together. Always was a fan, he was so exciting when he was engaged and playing well.
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Rune should coach him part time.
 
Subway Tennis said:
I know it seems like a little bit of hyperbole, but in Australia Kyrgios (when he is playing well) would be probably the third most popular men’s player behind Federer and Nadal at the moment. With Federer gone, Nadal’s health in question, an argument could be made that locally Kyrgios may have ended up being the biggest drawcard.

Not saying it’s a good or bad thing, just that Kyrgios is a bigger drawcard than people think. And it goes up a level at his home major.

Alcaraz, Sinner, Rune etc etc are global superstars to us tennis fans but they would still be relatively new names to the huge amount of seasonal tennis fans that are a big source of ticket sales / viewing figures in Australian tennis summer. Particularly Alcaraz who didn’t play here last year. And Djokovic, Murray, Tsitsipas are all big names here but don’t go nuclear in the same way.
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Sinner and Rune might be new names, but tennis hasn't faded to such an extent that Alcaraz as a USO and Wimbledon champion is unknown.
 
reaper said:
Sinner and Rune might be new names, but tennis hasn't faded to such an extent that Alcaraz as a USO and Wimbledon champion is unknown.
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I understand what you mean about Carlitos Alcaraz. He is slightly under the radar here more than you’d think, though. Didn’t play AO last year, and he missed that coronation as winner of the last major before 2023 AO. My point is somewhat moot though, because Alcaraz has the approach to tennis that sports MAD Melbournians love. The surface doesn’t suit his game but he will be a sensation here for sure and it won’t take long.
 
bbf8ee639c56cf29df88555bc23dabd2904a8d55.gif
 
Look, he’s a major clown and waste of talent, a true shame that he didn’t make more of his career.

If this is it ol’ bean, I am genuinely going to be saddened to see him go. He had legitimate breathtaking talent.

But. We will always have this. And for this, Nick, I can never truly dislike you.

 
BeatlesFan said:
You've got it backwards. Nick's already said he'd love to coach Holger. He did a Q and A after his knee operation and said the only player he'd bother coaching is Rune.

Hoger-Rune-and-Nick-Kyrgios.jpg
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The sad irony of the whole situation is that Rune’s current coach would have been a fantastic support and guiding figure to Kyrgios if he had been willing to take him on when the moment arrived years ago.

I can’t think of too many coaches who would be better at understanding, controlling and weaponising a volatile, talented tennis player like Kyrgios than Becker.

And he would have cared for his well-being too. Becker would have dismantled the rag-tag bunch of hangers-on who wasted Nick’s time and energy over the years and got him on the right path.

Not sure if he would have won majors but Becker would have created so many opportunities for him that Kyrgios wouldn’t have the unanswerable “what if” questions in his mind that he no doubt has now.
 
He's
BeatlesFan said:
You've got it backwards. Nick's already said he'd love to coach Holger. He did a Q and A after his knee operation and said the only player he'd bother coaching is Rune.

Hoger-Rune-and-Nick-Kyrgios.jpg
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What precisely would Kyrgios add as a coach? He has a beautiful serve himself, but can he teach someone else to hit it? The rest of his game is not really from the textbook, especially the footwork.
 
BeatlesFan said:
I'm beginning to think Nick may never play another professional match. He was pretty good as a commentator on American TV and received a lot of praise, maybe he's transitioning into becoming a broadcaster. Such incredible talent, he just never got his head together. Always was a fan, he was so exciting when he was engaged and playing well.
Click to expand...
His head wasn't the problem. His commitment off the court was. Once he got past 25 his lifestyle caught up with him and his lack of fitness started to lead to knee problems. Patella tendonitis will kill you if your legs aren't strong enough to release pressure. Guy was almost always out of shape.
 
Too much fame and fortune too fast (and/or too easy/without justification). Why work when a free gallon of milk is delivered to your door every few days, I always say.
 
Kralingen said:
Look, he’s a major clown and waste of talent, a true shame that he didn’t make more of his career.

If this is it ol’ bean, I am genuinely going to be saddened to see him go. He had legitimate breathtaking talent.

But. We will always have this. And for this, Nick, I can never truly dislike you.

Click to expand...
Maybe I don’t know how to spot it but does one say he is talented? I believe every player in the top 20 is a talent in some way. The big 3 in hindsight to me are talents because they won a bucket load but I honestly do not know how to say ‘this guy is talented’ especially when he has little to backup. His serve is great but so is Raonic’s?
 
BeatlesFan said:
I'm beginning to think Nick may never play another professional match. He was pretty good as a commentator on American TV and received a lot of praise, maybe he's transitioning into becoming a broadcaster. Such incredible talent, he just never got his head together. Always was a fan, he was so exciting when he was engaged and playing well.
Click to expand...

He'll try to come back when he's like 34
 
Azure said:
Maybe I don’t know how to spot it but does one say he is talented? I believe every player in the top 20 is a talent in some way. The big 3 in hindsight to me are talents because they won a bucket load but I honestly do not know how to say ‘this guy is talented’ especially when he has little to backup. His serve is great but so is Raonic’s?
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Oh, I’m solely referring to the demolition job he inflicted on Medvedev, humiliating the defending champ and making a mockery of his entire approach to tennis on the same court Medvedev had experienced his greatest success. He was a hot knife through butter.

That single match is my favourite, most satisfying of the entire 2020s.
 
Kralingen said:
Oh, I’m solely referring to the demolition job he inflicted on Medvedev, humiliating the defending champ and making a mockery of his entire approach to tennis on the same court Medvedev had experienced his greatest success. He was a hot knife through butter.

That single match is my favourite, most satisfying of the entire 2020s.
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Meddy seemed out of sorts to me that day though. I think he’s had a few good matches. Dangerous player sure but I’d definitely say for instance that Wawrinka is a ‘bigger talent’ than Kyrgios because he’s inflicted such damage and having slams and titles to show. People tend to award a slam to Kyrgios for what his potential talent is when he has none to show even in this vastly depleted field.
 
i hate to say it but he hasn't changed.. he couldn't hack it as a player and now he can't even make a proper comeback in any reasonable sort of time.. sad but oh well :confused:
 
Azure said:
Maybe I don’t know how to spot it but does one say he is talented? I believe every player in the top 20 is a talent in some way. The big 3 in hindsight to me are talents because they won a bucket load but I honestly do not know how to say ‘this guy is talented’ especially when he has little to backup. His serve is great but so is Raonic’s?
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I was never a Kyrgios fan but for me he was incredibly talented. Talent is a loaded word, so maybe I should say he had abilities that separated him from the bulk of the tour.

He had racquetface awareness that not many outside Wawrinka, Nadal and Federer had. It always seemed like even in rapid fire net exchanges his contact point was always perfect and he could flush the ball.

He also had a very live arm which meant he could inject pace at will and leave an opponent completely stranded. And his touch meant that he had a massive variety in levels of ball speed.

He could also read the ball amazingly, which meant it was almost impossible to hit into his strengths with pace and he was also extremely creative in the way he could deceive opponents and/or win points with a single shot.

The trouble for Kyrgios is that he was so deadly with a single shot, that he neglected the finer arts of court craft and building a point with multiple shots. His point construction abilities, particularly building a point from the return were wildly below par when compared with the rest of his game.

He should have become one of the most dangerous floaters on tour but instead he became very serve dominant and put limits on himself with a horrible return game and relying on winners rather than constant pressure to win points.
 
Subway Tennis said:
I was never a Kyrgios fan but for me he was incredibly talented. Talent is a loaded word, so maybe I should say he had abilities that separated him from the bulk of the tour.

He had racquetface awareness that not many outside Wawrinka, Nadal and Federer had. It always seemed like even in rapid fire net exchanges his contact point was always perfect and he could flush the ball.

He also had a very live arm which meant he could inject pace at will and leave an opponent completely stranded. And his touch meant that he had a massive variety in levels of ball speed.

He could also read the ball amazingly, which meant it was almost impossible to hit into his strengths with pace and he was also extremely creative in the way he could deceive opponents and/or win points with a single shot.

The trouble for Kyrgios is that he was so deadly with a single shot, that he neglected the finer arts of court craft and building a point with multiple shots. His point construction abilities, particularly building a point from the return were wildly below par when compared with the rest of his game.

He should have become one of the most dangerous floaters on tour but instead he became very serve dominant and put limits on himself with a horrible return game and relying on winners rather than constant pressure to win points.
Click to expand...
This is great so some of the key points I am reading are - anticipation, touch and serve?

One of my favorite players was Haas. He had a lot going for him too and I regarded him in my limited reading of it, as a great talent. I liked Dolgopolov as well. It is impossible for me to distinguish the talent levels of let’s say these three guys. Haas was definitely offset by injuries but would we able to call him a once in a generation talent like Kyrgios is often called one? How do we rank an even more obvious injury offset player such as Delpo?

Tennis and sport in general is as much physical as mental. Both talents have to come together to have success. I may be great at math but my concentration is what is just as crucial to solve the problem isn’t it? When you look at most of the multi slam winners, apart from their skillset, they had immense mental strength and they were able to quickly block out distractions. I believe Kyrgios is pretty poorly talented in that regard. Some of it can be developed I suppose but he either lacks the talent or the fortitude and I again cannot say which of it, it is.
 
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