Nick has to get his head right
IF NICK Kyrgios is ever serious about wanting to be a Grand Slam champion, he needs to take a cold, hard look at what’s really holding him back.
There’s no doubt that the Australian has the natural talent to win one of the four biggest tournaments in the world but he’ll never fulfil his potential until he learns to control his temper.
Time and again, Kyrgios has snatched defeat from the jaws of victory after blowing his fuse and picking fights for no reason.
He did it again in Sunday’s Wimbledon final – wrongly accusing a spectator of being drunk, ranting at the chair umpire, and arguing with his own family and friends in his private box.
Unsurprisingly, his game fell apart once he got distracted as Novak Djokovic came from a set down to win the final 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6, getting a critical break in the third set when Kyrgios blew a 40-0 lead on his own serve.
“He has never played in a Wimbledon final and we know that also he kind of has his ups and downs in the match,” Djokovic said. “He’ll probably be very upset with himself for losing that game. I didn’t win it; he lost that game with his unforced errors.”
US great John McEnroe said Kyrgios was trying to blame everyone but himself.
“This is a perfect example of why you want Nick to just commit. He beat himself, he’s screaming at the box, I don’t get that bit,” McEnroe said.
Pat Cash, the 1987 Wimbledon champion, said Kyrgios has the game to win but needs to get his head right.
“If he could improve 10 per cent his mental management in matches he would be a Grand Slam champion,” Cash said. “When he looks back at it he will say ‘yeah I lost it a bit’.”