Davis Cup culture behind Kyrgios’ conduct change
HAS the Wild Thing turned into the Mild Thing?
Nick Kyrgios is winning and smiling a little and all of a sudden, Australia seems more prepared to forgive him his teenage sins.
Who was this Kyrgios on Friday night, kidding around with the actor Will Smith during his post-match interview, sharing a joke with one of his favourite players, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, at the net after the Australian beat Tsonga in four sets to reach the fourth round, and enduring a long and tough match without a single major blow-up?
The question is whether it is a new, mature Kyrgios at 22, and it is worth remembering that at his pre-tournament press conference, he said that he knew it was time to mature, to find a more ‘‘even keel’’.
‘‘There’s no doubt that Nick’s improving in that space,’’ said Todd Woodbridge, Davis Cup legend and media analyst. ‘‘I’ve been a big advocate for what the Davis Cup last year has done for him. It’s [being part of a team] but not only that, I think if you learn to cope with the stress and the pressure of performing for your group, meaning the playing group, there’s actually a lot of expectation and responsibility and with learning to handle that responsibility, it becomes easier when you walk out as an individual to do that because you’re better equipped.
‘‘Whereas two years ago, 18 months ago, he wasn’t able to handle that, because he’s been given a new tool. We’re starting to see that.’’
Kyrgios himself acknowledges that Lleyton Hewitt’s calling him up for the Davis Cup, culminating in a September semifinal loss to Belgium in The Age GETTY IMAGES Brussels, has been ‘‘huge’’ for him
‘‘I think honestly, it’s the culture,’’ he said on Friday night.
Woodbridge said he had seen it all before. ‘‘Historically in Australia, many of our very best players have had that experience and gone on to better and great things. You can use [Pat] Cash as an example, you can use [Pat] Rafter as a prime example, even myself in my own career. It gives you an added experience that you can’t get playing as an individual. When you’re an individual and lose, it’s you and you feel sorry and everyone else moves on. When you play in a larger group with the responsibility of playing for Australia, those people in a unit as your team-mates make you better.’’
It was only a year ago that Kyrgios was at his worst here in Melbourne, losing to Andreas Seppi and warring with the chair umpire, complete with code violations and a torrent of public criticism afterward. As Woodbridge observed, the Australian has had moments already in this tournament that could have led to an explosion – against Viktor Troicki and again during the tight battle with Tsonga. But the Vesuvius moments never came.
‘‘He’s showing us that he’s learning,’’ Woodbridge said.
‘‘But I always feel our expectations on a teenager or someone in their early 20s to actually act and behave like someone who’s in their mid-40s is probably a little unreasonable. You’d like it to be perfect but none of it’s perfect. What we’re seeing is a guy who’s listening and a guy who’s learning. He’s going to have his moments, don’t be fooled because it’s also his point of difference.’’