John McEnroe praises the playful abilities of Nick Kyrgios. But the icon also notes with concern that the extrovert Australian is putting his career at risk.
They’re a bit like brothers in spirit. John McEnroe and Nick Kyrgios – two fascinating and polarizing characters. On the court, explosive, irritable, sarcastic, ironic to the point of self-destruction – but also often ingenious in their playing equipment.
No wonder, then, that McEnroe Kyrgios always seems to have a bit more in mind than other professionals. And the former grandmaster from the USA makes no secret of the fact that he is seriously concerned about the development of the world rankings-35. He put his career on the line, said “Big Mac” about the 23-year-old.
“Nick is the most talented player of the last ten years. But the difference between him and me is I’ve always tried everything. He doesn’t do that – for whatever reason,” McEnroe said in an interview with the Australian news program “60 Minutes”, adding sarcastically: “I’m not Sigmund Freud. I wish I was because I like Nick.”
Kyrgios is the man of extremes. He curses, he self-destructively talks to himself, he beats dreamy winners, and only seconds later he allows himself inexplicable mistakes. “If he doesn’t install a suitable team of coaches, he runs the risk of his career imploding,” McEnroe warned: “Nick will leave the game at some point, and I don’t want to experience that. But that will happen, it’s as clear as day!”
McEnroe has already coached Kyrgios for the “Team World” at the Laver Cup. The 59-year-old, born in Wiesbaden, Hesse, can therefore take the liberty of passing judgement on the “Bad Boy”, who only praised improvement a few weeks ago. Kyrgios had reported that he now works with two psychologists – one in Australia and one overseas.
“I’ve struggled with a few things on and off the court this year. It wasn’t easy,” he recently told The Canberra Times. And he was quite self-critical when he declared with regard to his mental problems: “Probably I let it drag on too long.” Kyrgios had often consulted experts in the past, but the unconditional willingness to change was probably not there.
For McEnroe, the 1.98-m slap is and remains a tennis diamond despite its escapades: “From my point of view, Nick is the most talented player I’ve seen since Djokovic, Murray, Nadal and Federer. He’s an incredible talent,” he said a few weeks ago on “TennisNow”.