Former Wimbledon winner Pat Cash likens Nick Kyrgios to Anna Kournikova

Pat Cash was hardly a choir boy on the tennis court but the former Wimbledon champion has dropped some harsh truths on Nick Kyrgios.

Nick Kyrgios and Anna Kournikova.

Australian tennis great and former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash has compared Nick Kyrgios to former tennis glamour girl Anna Kournikova, while likening his fellow Aussie to a “car crash” you have to watch.

Kyrgios reinforced his status as one of tennis’s most controversial and entertaining figures in a thrilling five-set victory over fellow Australian Jordan Thompson in the first round at Wimbledon.

He also made headlines in the post-match press conference, firing shots at reporters in a tense exchange ahead of his second round showdown with Rafael Nadal.

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In assessing Kyrgios after the match, 1987 Wimbledon champion Cash was reminded of Kournikova, the glamorous Russian player who generated plenty of headlines and earnings, but never lived up to her potential in the eyes of many.

“I think Nick is a talent. People will want to watch because you don’t know if he is going to hit the ball in, hit the ball at the umpire, kill the opponent, kill an umpire or kill a racquet or whatever it is going to be. But people also watch car crashes,” Cash told the BBC.

“You look at the side of the road and you can’t help but watch.

“I don’t want him to be super talented and watched just for the sake of being a spectacle, like Anna Kournikova: highly paid but never really doing anything and never really getting there.

“Is he a male Kournikova? Kournikova did win a grand slam in doubles, but you know what I mean? He is a like a show around it but never quite reaches his potential.”

Cash’s comments come after German legend Boris Becker accused Kyrgios of seeking attention with his antics.

“I think the more we talk about them (outbursts), the more he’s going to do them. There is this funny need to be heard and known for something besides playing tennis — almost an attention deficit disorder,” Becker said on The Daily Serve.

“I want him to do what he does best, that’s him playing tennis. He’s one of the best talents out there and I’d like to talk about the last tournaments he’s won, not the last outbursts he’s done.”