Kyrgios shows he is still a pretender

IT was unwatchable.

From virtually the first ball to the last, Nick Kyrgios was never in the hunt.

With victory delivering a shot at journeyman qualifier Ernests Gulbis for a quarterfinal slot, Kyrgios had everything to play for. For once, the marbles seemed to be fall the Australian’s way.

Kei Nishikori is a formidable obstacle at any time but, on grass, Kyrgios had every reason to feel confident. And animated. He was neither. For reasons difficult to fathom, one of the world’s most lethal grass courters could not produce when it mattered.

Admirably, Kyrgios was honest post-match with admissions he panicked.

He is hardly alone there in professional sport. It happens in team sports. In individual sports, the consequences are magnified.

The past, regrettably, can’t be changed. Kyrgios has never had a better shot of making a deep run into the second week of Wimbledon.

Yes, he managed it in 2014 as a 19-year-old, sweeping into the quarter-finals with that famous win over Rafael Nadal.

Four years on, Kyrgios is familiar with the fear of losing. Too familiar.

Long criticised for not employing a full-time coach or mentor, the time has arrived for Kyrgios to do so. Now is the time to review what is required to carry him from pretender to contender.