John McEnroe and Mats Wilander’s words of encouragement for Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios has won over some new fans this summer and all-time greats John McEnroe and Mats Wilander have offered some timely advice.
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Grand Slam champions John McEnroe and Mats Wilander predict Nick Kyrgios can eventually secure a place among the elite – if the feisty Australian successfully manages his volatile temperament.
Kyrgios lost an engrossing Australian Open fourth-rounder to Rafael Nadal, but won the admiration of former world No. 1 pair McEnroe and Wilander.
“I’ve never seen Nick battle like that,” McEnroe said.
“If he keeps battling like that, then he will be in the top 10 by the end of the year.
“Let’s hope and pray it continues.”
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Wilander said there was a string of positives to emerge from the four-set thriller, not least the apparent end of the cold war between world champion Nadal and Kyrgios.
“We can forget that rivalry they had, that doesn’t exist anymore, there is respect between the two,” Wilander said.
“Nadal had some great words to say about Nick after the match, where if he keeps this positive attitude he’s one of the most talented players on this tour.
“Hopefully Kyrgios takes this and realises that this is what he should be doing."
Wilander suspects Kyrgios’ leadership among the player cohort in supporting Tennis Australia’s bushfire fundraising played a role in softening Nadal’s perception.
“Maybe it was the Rally for Relief that Kyrgios organised,” Wilander, at Melbourne Park for Eurosport, said.
“Nadal came out and it seemed everybody realised Kyrgios had a big heart, he just doesn’t always care about winning tennis matches.
“A match like this, the support from the Australian crowd, now the support from the locker room, and even Nadal, hopefully that gets Kyrgios to realise this is what he should be doing in his life.
“Try hard on a tennis court, and good things will happen for it off the court as well.”
Kyrgios sounded a note of caution over the prospects of a career reset despite closing the gap to Nadal.
Denied in an almost identical scoreline to the pair’s Wimbledon clash in July, Kyrgios “felt a lot closer this time.”
Heartened by Nadal’s comments the Australian is capable of contending for the world’s most important titles, including grand slams, Kyrgios could give no guarantee he will continue to engage as professionally as he has this summer.
“The trouble for me is being able to actually just produce the same attitude over and over again,” Kyrgios said.
“I mean, hopefully I can keep doing it. I'm just taking it day by day, trying to be positive, just bring positive vibes.”
Told of Nadal’s generous compliments, Kyrgios said: “I appreciate it. But I already know that. I've known that for the last four years.
“I feel like I've made progress as a human.
“A tennis player, I don't really care about as much. But yeah, I mean, I feel good.
“But I want to keep going in this direction, for sure.”
Motivated to perform because of his compassion for bushfire victims – and devastated by Kobe Bryant’s death – Kyrgios has been a revelation this month.
On probation until March for disciplinary breaches last season, Kyrgios typically struggles on long trips away from home.
He is scheduled to play New York, Delray Beach and Acapulco, where he is the defending champion.
With 100 aces in four matches and defining performances against Nadal and Karen Khachanov, Kyrgios believes he is a superior player than he was five years ago.
“I think I'm playing better tennis than I was,” the 2015 Melbourne Park quarter-finalist said.
Nadal will next face Austrian Dominic Thiem in the quarters in a rematch of the past two French Open finals.