Kyrgios: ‘Go on and win men’s title, Andy’

ANDY Murray (right) has found himself somewhat overshadowed at Wimbledon by the heroics of other British players and the shock exit of Novak Djokovic — and it was the same again on fourthround day.

This time the man taking the headlines was Nick Kyrgios, who Murray brushed aside to set up a last-eight clash against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga — and at the close of their game Kyrgios urged Andy to go on and win the men’s title.

The world No 2 looked every inch the title favourite in a 7-5 6-1 6-4 win but Kyrgios lost his focus in the second set and did not give his opponent the test that had been expected.

The volatile young Australian berated himself for his performance, saying: “It was a good first set. The rest of the match was pretty pathetic. As soon as I lost the first set, I just lost belief.

“I think when things get tough, I’m just a little bit soft.

“I’ve got experience but it ultimately comes down to just laying it all out there and competing for a long time. I didn’t do that at all throughout the match.”

Kyrgios said ahead of the match that it was “love at first sight” with Murray — and the man from Dunblane often stands up for his friend when he receives negative press. But not this time.

Murray said: “I think he’s time on his side but obviously there’s a few things he needs to improve and get better at.

“The sooner he does that, the better it will be for him and his career.”

Kyrgios knows he needs to do better but appears unsure how to go about it.

Asked if he was applying himself fully, the 15th seed shook his head and, when asked if that was something he wanted to address, he replied: “I don’t know.”

The tears he was struggling to hold back showed he does care.

He added: “At times, like I’ve previously said I don’t love the sport. But I don’t really know what else to do without it.

“I know I have the talent to do good things.

“I woke up this morning and played computer games. Is that the greatest preparation? I don’t know. But it was fun.

“Every time I come here, I lose to good players. It’s disappointing. I don’t know. I just want to do better.”

However, for all Kyrgios’ failings, the key factor was the performance of Murray, who found a perfect mix of patience and aggression as he strode to victory.

Time and again he pulled his opponent forward with pinpoint drop shots — and it was no surprise that Kyrgios’ levels of frustration bubbled over.

Asked what they said to each other at the end, Kyrgios said: “He said, ‘Sorry’. I said, ‘It’s OK. Just win the tournament, please’.”