Tomic snaps at weight questions as Kyrgios insists he has learned his lesson over injury
Australian contenders have both had to answer concerns over fitness,
F writes Simon Briggs itness concerns continue to dog the main Australian contenders at Melbourne Park this year, although the two cases of Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic – a pair of natural controversialists – are very different.
Tomic lost his patience yesterday with queries over his weight, which has been a point of discussion ever since he returned from the off-season carrying the best part of an extra stone. He then claimed to have lost the surplus flesh over a few days in the gym, prompting no little scepticism from the local media.
Asked whether his weight had stabilised, he snapped: “I’m not going to answer that.” And when invited to rank his own fitness, he remained touchy. “I’ve based my sport, what I’ve got in my career, on my serve, my ability to play tennis,” said Tomic, whose ranking has slid back to the fringes of the top 30. “I think there are many fitter players than me that are outside the top 100 in the world. I think we can skip this question.”
In Kyrgios’s case, the debate surrounds damage to the bone in his left knee, which is believed to have been sustained while he was playing his beloved basketball. He said yesterday that the problem had responded to cortisone treatment, administered via patches because injections were not recommended for one so young. But the question remains: why was he playing basketball in the first place?
Asked about his fitness schedule during the off-season, Kyrgios replied: “I had a bit more of a schedule this year. I had a strength conditioner. We’ve been working pretty hard. I guess it was [during] the couple of weeks where I didn’t have him this year that I kind of did my own thing. I think that’s how my knee started flaring up a little bit. Live and learn. Hopefully next year I’ll get it right.”
There is a self-destructive streak in Kyrgios that undermines one of the most unique talents this sport has seen. He has the fastest arm on the tour, by a distance, and such a quick eye that he can line up miracle shots from almost anywhere. To be a serial champion, though, you need to have mastered the basics.
Kyrgios has yet to show that he has the patience to grind out results as well as delivering flashy winners. He is truly a player for the iPad generation, better suited to highlight reels than the painstaking business of winning seven best-of-five-set matches over a fortnight.
Kyrgios’s response yesterday, when asked to list his expectations for the Australian Open, were revealing. “I feel like I can do some major damage and get to the second week and really cause some upsets,” he said. He still sounds as if he is setting himself up as the underdog, when in fact his status as the 14th seed means that he will be facing lower-ranked players until the fourth round at the very least.
His critics say that Kyrgios is betraying his natural ability. His admirers, who include a disproportionate number of younger fans, reply that he is the most