Nick Kyrgios: 'If I were like that, I'd be a lousy opponent'
At a press conference at the ATP Masters tournament in Montreal, Australian Nick Kyrgios explained why he doesn't always look his best on the tennis court.
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit: Aug 12, 2022, 07:32 pm
Nick Kyrgios is really "on fire"! Last week, the Australian won the ATP World Tour 500 tournament in Washington and the 27-year-old is also showing his best side at the Masters event that is currently taking place in Montreal. And not only in a playful way, the often criticized antics are only to a small extent the order of the day.
With the strong results - including a win in the second round against the world number one Daniil Medvedev - Kyrgios has already earned a position for the last Grand Slam tournament of the year. And if the "enfant terrible" of the tennis scene can continue to keep his nerves in check, a further rise in the ATP ranking is probably only a matter of time.
"What you see of me on the court doesn't match my values"
In any case, the man from "down under" has a clear opinion about his personality and his behavior on the court, which he gave at a press conference in Canada: "I don't care if people don't like the way I play tennis, how I am or how I dress. I understand that there are different personalities, that's how it is. But from the beginning of my career there was an image of me based on what I was doing on the pitch. An image that not at all consistent with who I am."
"What you see of me on the court doesn't reflect my values. And the people who spend a lot of time with me know that too. I firmly believe that you have to have two different personalities to be successful as an athlete .One on the pitch and one off the pitch.You can't be super nice, generous all the time on the pitch etc. If I were like that I'd be a lousy opponent."