BLUFFING
Kyrgios scoffs at Andy’s claim he has only got two years left at top
ANDY MURRAY believes the end is nigh and Nick Kyrgios isn’t having a word of it, calling ‘bluff’ on the world No1’s claims that he has only a couple of years remaining on the summit of men’s tennis.
Murray turned 30 last month and admitted this week that his days at the top may be numbered, telling the BBC on Friday that ‘maybe the next couple of years are the last few where I have a chance to compete for the majors and the biggest tournaments’.
The Scot’s immediate goal is his grass-court return at Queen’s Club, where he starts his attempt at a sixth title against British No4 Aljaz Bedene on Tuesday, and the greater target next month is for a third crown at Wimbledon, which would tie Fred Perry’s haul and enhance further Murray’s standing in the sport.
But Kyrgios does not even remotely buy into his sense of urgency on the topic of longevity. The controversial Australian is near the front of the queue of talents waiting to push out the old boys of the top five, but the 22-year-old has seen enough in his frequent workouts with Murray to believe he is applying a degree of kidology in the hints that time might soon be up.
Kyrgios said yesterday: ‘How old’s Andy now? Thirty? I think he’s got more than two years left at the top. He’s in unbelievable physical shape. The only thing I can see stopping him from playing is him actually not wanting to play any more, if he’s had enough of it. But he doesn’t strike me as a guy who is going to stop playing.
‘I think he’s bluffing. He’s unbelievable. I think he’s got more than two years.’
Kyrgios has long been touted as a talent capable of filling the void once the current leading lights start to fade, which logically ought to occur sooner rather than later with the top five of Murray, Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer all in their thirties.
But Kyrgios, ranked 20th and yet to crack the top 10, has never carried external expectations comfortably, even if he does appear to be showing belated signs of maturity.
If he can control himself better on the court then the consensus is that Slam titles will follow, but the player himself is reluctant to put a timescale on when he might tangibly deliver on his potential.
He said: ‘I’m not thinking about top five or whatever. I’m just trying to get through every day, day by day, trying to play, trying to put as much effort in as I can. Because I know that when I start thinking ahead, about how much time I have left on the road or goals and stuff, I’ll start losing motivation, I won’t try.
‘So I’m just trying to get through every day at the moment.’
For a significant time, homesickness has been a problem for Kyrgios on his travels, but computer games and home cooking are making a difference on his current trip to London, as well as his recovery from seven months of hip problems.
He said: ‘The homesickness is getting better. I feel like when I am in Europe or on clay the homesick just kicks in pretty much instantly. But when I am in London it feels like home. London or America feels like a bit of Australia.
‘When I have my mum here and we are living in a house with her cooking for me, like I am now, I have that home feeling. It is good.
‘Now I am just walking around and playing computer games. I am playing the Nintendo Switch at the moment, The Legend of Zelda. It is unreal — I can’t stop playing it.’
Kyrgios is seeded ninth at Queen’s and faces American Donald Young in the first round. He could later meet Murray in the semi-finals, with the Scot potentially facing Brit Cameron Norrie in the second round and then Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarters.