Australian Open: Nick Kyrgios and the missing percentage points
Nick Kyrgios put in a great performance against Daniil Medvedev in the second round of the Australian Open. But you already know that from the Australian from the past.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Jan 20, 2022, 04:14 pm
"If, if, if - that doesn't exist," Rafael Nadal said in 2019 after his second round victory over Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon. Once again, the question at stake was what the undoubtedly gifted Australian could have achieved in his career with a better work ethic. This question came up again on Thursday. Kyrgios lost to the reigning US Open champion Daniil Medvedev in a thrilling game in four sets and, as so often at the Australian Open, showed what potential he had.
However, anyone who is now hoping for the 26-year-old's final breakthrough should take a look at the recent past: Both in 2020 against Rafael Nadal and a year later against Dominic Thiem, Kyrgios kept up in Melbourne with two absolute world-class athletes for a long time, how the local hero also left the field as a loser against Medvedev. We waited in vain for similarly strong performances in the further course of the season.
Kyrgios realizes his dream
And 2022? At least Kyrgios wants to play more often than last year - especially on the big stages like in Melbourne. "People can doubt me as much as they want, but they know I'll be there for games like this," said the world number 115. "I don't take moments like this for granted. As a little kid I watched a lot of tennis matches on this court and one day I thought I would be there entertaining millions of people. It became a reality."
However, Kyrgios was satisfied with his performance: "I'll keep my head up, I gave it my all. I did a good job. I think he's the favorite to win the Australian Open. I can't be too upset." In addition, with today's performance he would have beaten 95 percent of all players, according to the 26-year-old, who will play his next tournament in Dallas on February 14th.
Medvedev, on the other hand, is still aiming for something bigger in Melbourne. The second in the world rankings underpinned his role as favorite at the first Grand Slam tournament of the year by defeating Kyrgios and also got along well with the frenetic audience on Thursday: "I let my racket do the talking." In the next round, the Russian faces Botic van de Zandschulp.
Here is the men's individual tableau
laver arena