OPINION
By James Gray
Sports News Correspondent
The eccentric Australian adds authenticity and insight to the BBC's tennis coverage
July 11, 2024 9:32 am (Updated July 14, 2024 11:38 am)
Kyrgios is like a modern McEnroe on the microphone (Photo: Getty)
Nick Kyrgios is in the second week of Wimbledon for the first time in two years. Sadly, he is not playing. But in commentating he has found a way to be successful with far less risk of being knocked out.
Kyrgios is an eminently watchable figure, on or off the court. With a racket in his hand, it is his eccentricity and unpredictability that makes him so popular.
But in a studio or commentary box, he acts like a grown-up, something he often seems incapable of doing on a tennis court. It’s almost unnerving to hear him so composed and, more often than not, insightful.
Part of that comes from the reverence he has for fellow broadcasters, whether that is Tim Henman or John McEnroe, both whom appear to have enjoyed working alongside Kyrgios.
McEnroe has always been a natural bedfellow for Kyrgios, a wild child of immeasurable talent, someone tennis needed, loved and hated all at the same time.
“The mic turned out to be a blessing in disguise for me,” said McEnroe, now a part of the BBC furniture.
“Because I was able to show a side of my personality that I was pretty miserable at showing on the court; that I like to have some fun and can be hopefully a little bit funny at times, but then I knew the game. So I think that’s the combination that works for me.”
Kyrgios has that same combination, having asked McEnroe for tips, losing a gentleman’s bet with Henman over a Hawk-Eye line call before more successfully calling Taylor Fritz’s strategy change in the fourth set against Lorenzo Musetti.
“I’m telling you, I’m feeling quite comfortable this commentary box,” Kyrgios said on Wednesday.
“But I hit here for two hours this morning and I’m on with Novak [Djokovic] again tomorrow.”
It is a difficult line to toe between player, confidant and broadcaster. Kyrgios promised he could provide more insight on Djokovic’s condition after their pre-semi-final practice, but would the Serb really want him telling all on TV minutes after being inside the camp?
McEnroe and Kyrgios have formed an entertaining double act (Photo: PA)
Cricket’s Jonathan Agnew, one of the best broadcasters to have made the leap from playing to talking, writes a good story in his autobiography about an early tour soon after his retirement where he was asked to fill in as a net bowler.
Although he was there working for BBC radio, he obliged and found himself ostracised by other journalists, soon realising he could not have a foot in both camps. Kyrgios may discover the same if he continues this hybrid role. Or perhaps he could redefine the industry. He could; he has lost none of his swagger in the last 21 months, during which he has played just one match and had knee surgery.
“I always felt like I was one of the best players on grass. I put myself up against any one of them,” 2022 Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios said.
“In the year 2022 I felt almost unbeatable on the surface. When I was coming up mid-20s I was going up against prime Roger [Federer], prime Rafa [Nadal], prime [Andy] Murray and all these gods of the game so hopefully my body doesn’t take too long to get right.”
On Wednesday afternoon, he was gutted not to be watching Davis Cup team-mate Alex de Minaur take on his practice partner Djokovic. (The Australian pulled out that morning with a hip injury.)
Instead, Kyrgios found himself calling Fritz vs Musetti, and was desperate for Fritz, a good friend off the court, to come forward and get closer to the baseline and the net.
It made you think there was a world in which he could be an effective coach, but it also reminded you that Kyrgios does still love tennis, even if he is now a more regular pundit than player.
That is the criticism of many ex-players who now call the game, that they do not consume as much tennis as the people whom they lecture on it, and rest on their laurels. Kyrgios, who has not won a grand slam, could not be accused of that. He could be criticised for a few bum lines though.
“Break points start to feel like set points when you’ve got a serve like Fritz,” felt like something he had written down the night before.
“Musetti will not be happy with that game, at all”, he said after the Italian was broken late in a set showed that even the newest pundits can be drawn into the elephant trap of stating the extremely obvious in search of something to say.
He couldn’t resist a dig at the line judge when one foot-faulted Fritz in the fifth set. “Sometimes I feel like they just want to be heard,” he complained.
Don’t worry, Nick Kyrgios is still Nick Kyrgios.
inews.co.uk
By James Gray
Sports News Correspondent
The eccentric Australian adds authenticity and insight to the BBC's tennis coverage
July 11, 2024 9:32 am (Updated July 14, 2024 11:38 am)
Kyrgios is like a modern McEnroe on the microphone (Photo: Getty)
Nick Kyrgios is in the second week of Wimbledon for the first time in two years. Sadly, he is not playing. But in commentating he has found a way to be successful with far less risk of being knocked out.
Kyrgios is an eminently watchable figure, on or off the court. With a racket in his hand, it is his eccentricity and unpredictability that makes him so popular.
But in a studio or commentary box, he acts like a grown-up, something he often seems incapable of doing on a tennis court. It’s almost unnerving to hear him so composed and, more often than not, insightful.
Part of that comes from the reverence he has for fellow broadcasters, whether that is Tim Henman or John McEnroe, both whom appear to have enjoyed working alongside Kyrgios.
McEnroe has always been a natural bedfellow for Kyrgios, a wild child of immeasurable talent, someone tennis needed, loved and hated all at the same time.
“The mic turned out to be a blessing in disguise for me,” said McEnroe, now a part of the BBC furniture.
“Because I was able to show a side of my personality that I was pretty miserable at showing on the court; that I like to have some fun and can be hopefully a little bit funny at times, but then I knew the game. So I think that’s the combination that works for me.”
Kyrgios has that same combination, having asked McEnroe for tips, losing a gentleman’s bet with Henman over a Hawk-Eye line call before more successfully calling Taylor Fritz’s strategy change in the fourth set against Lorenzo Musetti.
“I’m telling you, I’m feeling quite comfortable this commentary box,” Kyrgios said on Wednesday.
“But I hit here for two hours this morning and I’m on with Novak [Djokovic] again tomorrow.”
It is a difficult line to toe between player, confidant and broadcaster. Kyrgios promised he could provide more insight on Djokovic’s condition after their pre-semi-final practice, but would the Serb really want him telling all on TV minutes after being inside the camp?
McEnroe and Kyrgios have formed an entertaining double act (Photo: PA)
Cricket’s Jonathan Agnew, one of the best broadcasters to have made the leap from playing to talking, writes a good story in his autobiography about an early tour soon after his retirement where he was asked to fill in as a net bowler.
Although he was there working for BBC radio, he obliged and found himself ostracised by other journalists, soon realising he could not have a foot in both camps. Kyrgios may discover the same if he continues this hybrid role. Or perhaps he could redefine the industry. He could; he has lost none of his swagger in the last 21 months, during which he has played just one match and had knee surgery.
“I always felt like I was one of the best players on grass. I put myself up against any one of them,” 2022 Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios said.
“In the year 2022 I felt almost unbeatable on the surface. When I was coming up mid-20s I was going up against prime Roger [Federer], prime Rafa [Nadal], prime [Andy] Murray and all these gods of the game so hopefully my body doesn’t take too long to get right.”
On Wednesday afternoon, he was gutted not to be watching Davis Cup team-mate Alex de Minaur take on his practice partner Djokovic. (The Australian pulled out that morning with a hip injury.)
Instead, Kyrgios found himself calling Fritz vs Musetti, and was desperate for Fritz, a good friend off the court, to come forward and get closer to the baseline and the net.
It made you think there was a world in which he could be an effective coach, but it also reminded you that Kyrgios does still love tennis, even if he is now a more regular pundit than player.
That is the criticism of many ex-players who now call the game, that they do not consume as much tennis as the people whom they lecture on it, and rest on their laurels. Kyrgios, who has not won a grand slam, could not be accused of that. He could be criticised for a few bum lines though.
“Break points start to feel like set points when you’ve got a serve like Fritz,” felt like something he had written down the night before.
“Musetti will not be happy with that game, at all”, he said after the Italian was broken late in a set showed that even the newest pundits can be drawn into the elephant trap of stating the extremely obvious in search of something to say.
He couldn’t resist a dig at the line judge when one foot-faulted Fritz in the fifth set. “Sometimes I feel like they just want to be heard,” he complained.
Don’t worry, Nick Kyrgios is still Nick Kyrgios.
To my surprise, Nick Kyrgios is a great Wimbledon commentator
The eccentric Australian adds authenticity and insight to the BBC's tennis coverage
inews.co.uk
