ANDY DUNN 2022
BRITAIN’S BEST COLUMNIST ON THE MEN’S FINAL
FIRST things first, until the outcome of possible legal proceedings against Nick Kyrgios are known, any final judgement of his character can wait.
Any decision on whether he is good for tennis, bad for tennis, good for sport, bad for sport, a complete tosser or a breath of fresh air, a maverick or an utter nuisance, can wait. Or most of it can wait. Because we already know his behaviour on the court is unacceptable.
Ah, ‘But the sport is mainly populated by automatons and it desperately needs characters such as Kyrgios’, I hear you say.
No, it doesn’t.
It doesn’t need characters who routinely abuse officials, who belittle line judges, who are the whinging epitome of a spoiled brat.
What is amazing about tennis – and, to some extent, other sports – is that people such as Kyrgi os are indulge d.
Tennis officials are an odd species, seemingly happy to sit there and be occasionally ridiculed and demeaned. Bizarre.
Look at the list of Kyrgios misdemeanours.
Actually, you haven’t got time to scan them all, but let’s take the 2019 Cincinnati Masters as Exhibit A.
He received five separate fines, totalling over $100,000, for unsportsmanlike conduct.
He called the umpire Fergus Murphy “a f***ing tool”, made a vulgar gesture and appeared to spit in his direction – the latter obviously something of a trademark , as those who were on Court No.2 for his firstround game against Paul Jubb will know.
If his treatment of officials is reprehensible, his interaction with his entourage in the stands is simply bizarre.
Admittedly, he is not alone in taking out his frustrations on his coaching staff, his friends, his family or whoever happens to be in the players’ box.
It has been a speciality of Andy Murray’s throughout his wonderful career.
But Kyrgios takes it to new levels. On Court No.1, during his quarter-final against Cristian Garin, Kyrgios seemed to insist that his entourage stood up and applauded after every point. When one of them shouted “Come On, Kyrs”, he instructed them never to repeat it.
It will be fascinating to see their behaviour on Centre Court today.
It will be fascinating to see the behaviour of Kyrgios on Centre
Court today.
Let’s just remind ourselves that
Kyrgios has been summonsed to appear before a court in
Canberra,
Australia, early next month in relation to a charge
of alleged common assault against former girlfriend Chiara Passari.
We’ll have to see how that plays out.
Having sat in his press conferences over the past fortnight, he’s certainly a complex character.
And when he talks of his battle with suicidal thoughts, self-harm and depression, you have no reason to believe that this battle is not a real one.
He is clearly a complex man off the court.
On the court, he is just as clearly box-office.
He is a breath of fresh air. He plays quickly, for a start, no time-wasting, no messing about.
His forehand is wonderfully flamboyant, his serve a thing of beauty.
He has the game to beat Novak Djokovic today.
But there is a reason why this is his first Grand Slam final. Same reason why the scheduled match against Rafa Nadal would have been his first Grand Slam semifinal.
All the stuff about Kyrgios, 27, needing to behave like an idiot to get the best out for himself on the court is palpable nonsense.
If anything, he toned down the idiocy in his win over Garin in the last eight.
And this afternoon, he has the chance to show that he can be sportsmanlike in the heat of competition and behave with professional calm.
Because that is what he will need to do if he is to beat Djokovic.
Rubber-neckers will tune in to see if Kyrgios starts ranting and raving and abusing yet again.
Hopefully, he will not oblige them.
If Kyrgios can keep his cool, he can pull off one of the sport’s great upsets.