Patrick Mouratoglou on Nick Kyrgios: 'He creates problems because he needs them'
Patrick Mouratoglou analyzed Nick Kyrgios ' behavior to Tennis Majors and explained why it is no coincidence that drama is pre-programmed in most games involving the Australian.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Aug 06, 2022, 10:38 am
You can love him, you can hate him - but hardly anyone is indifferent to Nick Kyrgios. And that is exactly what makes the Australian enfant terrible so attractive. That there is hardly a match of the 26-year-old that doesn't provide plenty to talk about afterwards - and one or the other clip for the appreciative review of the tennis month.
Something to talk about because Nick Kyrgios does not hesitate to loudly express his displeasure at the most trivial things on and off the pitch. Contrary to what one might think, however, it is not a disadvantage for the Australian if he is once again busy with everything but the match, as Patrick Mouratoglou explains to Tennis Majors: "I don't think it's a problem if Kyrgios is loud will - I think the opposite is the case."
Kyrgios needs the restlessness
The coach is convinced that the man from Canberra only draws his true strength from this lamentation: "I think that's his way of getting the energy, the will and the aggressiveness that he needs for his game," said the Frenchman. "And when Nick is too quiet, he's not as aggressive in the game. Then he's not playing his best tennis. And I think Nick is much more vulnerable in the games where he's quiet, where there aren't any problems."
The 52-year-old, Simona Halep's new coach, assumes that Kyrgios is actively looking for these problems - yes, even creating them himself: "In a way, he creates problems because he needs them to get the best out of himself." , states Mouratoglou. "A lot of people find that annoying and I understand that, I'm not saying it's good or bad. I'm just saying it's good for him and he needs it, that's why Nick causes so many problems."
Kyrgios and Tsitsipas with great drama
The best example of this: without a doubt the third-round duel in Wimbledon with Stefanos Tsitsipas, which degenerated into a big drama after the Greek freaked out. After losing the second set, Tsitsipas shot a ball in the direction of the spectators, and Kyrgios loudly demanded his disqualification. And Mouratoglou? He felt this scene first-hand: "He talked about this problem for almost the whole game. And he probably played the best game he's ever played. The next morning I was in the dressing room and Nick was still talking to someone else Chair umpire over it and yelled and was still mad."
But that's exactly how the Australian's tactics can be summed up, as Mouratoglou emphasizes: "When you see how he behaves, sometimes a small problem becomes a big one for him. He makes it much bigger and he repeats the same problem for a sentence or more until another one comes along and then he can rely on the second one," explains the 52-year-old. "He needs that. It brings out the fire in him that he needs to play."