Nick Kyrgios needs our support, not unrealistic expectation and cricitism, writes Sam Groth

Nick Kyrgios is buckling under the weight of expectation thrust upon him age 18 by an audience who, for the most part, are tennis fans for two weeks of the year. It’s time to stop crucifying him and lay-off, writes Sam Groth.

Nick Kyrgios of Australia plays a forehand during match two of the Kooyong Classic against Bernard Tomic of Australia at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne, Wednesday, January 9, 2019. (AAP Image/Daniel Pockett) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

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It’s time we all laid off Nick Kyrgios. We need a new approach.

Every year it’s the same thing. Hopes and expectations are piled up and then it all comes crashing down when he doesn’t meet them.

Australia hasn’t had a male grand slam champion since Lleyton Hewitt in 2001. We have always had someone at the top. We’re accustomed to it and we don’t cope well when that’s not the case.

Look at the Australian cricket and rugby teams; they’re getting smashed because they’re not playing the best. We – Australia - demand that we are always at the top of our game and right now we just don’t have that in men’s tennis.

So in the absence of a champion story, we have developed an obsession with piling expectations on the next best thing whether they’re ready for it or not.

Nick beat the top four at a young age and now - in the public’s eyes - must win everything, behave perfectly and always do the right thing.

He’s shown time and time again that it’s not going to happen, that he’s doing things his way and that isn’t going to change.

Artwork by Scott "Boo" Bailey

We want him to win so badly but it’s time we asked what he might want.

Right now he is buckling under the weight of expectation thrust upon him age 18 by an audience who, for the most part, are tennis fans for two weeks of the year.

Expecting the world and then outraged when it doesn’t happen.

Those that follow tennis year around will see the good Nick does elsewhere.

Sadly, the majority will only hear about what people think he has done wrong. Nick stepping out of line seems to get the public’s attention more than anything.

He’s been dealing with this for at least five years and to be honest I don’t know how he does it.

It’s now become something of a lose-lose situation for him.

The drama makes him a big ticket item and therefore a pay cheque. Nick Kyrgios is a tennis player and also a business.

He’s just released a shoe design with one of the NBA’s biggest names - Kyrie Irving. He is a global brand with a huge audience so of course every tournament wants him to play.

He fills stadiums, sells merchandise and commands blockbuster TV slots. He makes money, so why would anyone tell him to be any different?

Nick Kyrgios with his new shoe for the Australian Open.

Without a grand slam title and not many other trophies, Nick remains one of the biggest names in tennis. This is an entertainment business and people are making money out of him.

Outwardly people will say Nick isn’t “the look” we want for tennis, but inwardly they know he is the only thing keeping Australian tennis in the spotlight outside of January.

His “bad-boy” persona means good business yet we constantly berate him for it so I can’t say I was surprised when he said he was going to seek help for dealing with his mental health.

The fact that a 23-year old spoke publicly about his struggles should be praised not criticised. I don’t know many people his age that would be so honest about their feelings, imagine doing it on a global stage.

He isn’t hiding his struggles; he wants people to know how he is and how he feels. We have to respond to this better than we are.

You can’t expect someone to say in November I need help and magically be better a few weeks later.

We can’t keep building him up and then crucifying him if our expectations aren’t met.

Nick is a sensitive guy; he reads what people say about him. Social media is a dangerous environment especially when you’re travelling for long periods of time, often alone and away from family. When you read bad things enough you can start to believe them.

The tour is a lonely place and we need to do more to help our athletes prepare for what happens on tour and what happens afterwards. Look at what happened with Todd Reid. We need to learn from things like this.

Nick Kyrgios has been open and honest about his struggles

So let’s start by laying off Nick, take the pressure off and show some compassion. Maybe if we get around him he could go on to be the champion we hope he can be.

When I played with him at Davis Cup level he thrived on the team environment but in the regular season we have to remember he is playing for himself not Australia

It’s not all about public support and perception, of course there’s plenty of work for Nick to get sorted behind the scenes.

Realistically he is still Australia’s best hope of a grand slam but he has to want it.

The biggest piece of advice I could give him is to be ok with failure.

He needs to be OK with the idea of not winning a grand slam – and if that is the case to know he did everything he could have done and to have no regrets.

Groth and Kyrgios and the Davis Cup team back in the day

He needs to get a better understanding of how to deal with the attention that comes his way – not just from what he does on the court but all the projects he has elsewhere.

To the general public, let’s celebrate our talent and help them through the harder times.

We have moved passed Australia being the dominant force in tennis but we are lucky to have someone like Nick playing and we need to show more appreciation.

This all starts in Melbourne on Monday in a monster opening round.

Nick and Raonic are very similar players and the polar opposite in personality.

There will be little emotion form the towering Canadian, big serves and belting forehands. But Nick knows his game; he knows he will have to be at his best.

I just hope that win or lose he gives it everything and the public gets behind him.