Nick Kyrgios has made two Grand Slam quarter-final appearances as a teenager, the first player to do so since Roger Federer achieved the same feat in 2001.
He has achieved more than any other player as a teenager in recent times with his offensive baseline game, and with an ability to deal with pressure situations within a match that is probably beyond his years.
However, over the next year or two, we are going to learn a lot more about Kyrgios, and his ability to adapt to playing regularly on the ATP World Tour.
Playing on the ATP World Tour in today’s world is a tough and uncompromising environment, especially for a young player coming up through the rankings. It can take a couple of years for even the best young players to adapt to the demands of playing at the tour level.
This is for a number of reasons.
The high level of the opposition, especially at the start of a tournament, means you must be on your game right from the start of the match. You could be playing someone in the first round who you would normally play in the second, third or fourth round in a Grand Slam tournament, and then there’s the shorter best of three sets format. You cannot drift mentally or emotionally in and out of a match like you might in a best of five sets match.
This is a deceptively hard thing for a young player to adapt to on the ATP World Tour, and that is why we have seen very few breakthroughs in terms of winning titles on the tour from younger players.
Adding to this, playing and being around a select group of players regularly means that the opposition is working out your game, and trying to come up with ways to beat you. This can be a difficult thing for a young player, such as Kyrgios, to deal with, adding to the pressure that he may feel going into matches and events.
Following on from that is the sheer physicality of the players on the ATP World Tour is at an extremely high level, meaning that your body must be able to handle the demands of playing high level matches back-to-back, which means you must be extremely fit and ready to deal with the physical demands of playing consistently. You must also be able to remain fit, and not suffer too many injuries, a danger for every player, but especially for the younger players on tour.
Kyrgios has carried an injury in his back during his run to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, which has forced him to withdraw from tour events in Marseille and Dubai to try and recover in time for the first round Davis Cup tie against the Czech Republic in March.
This can potentially place pressure on Kyrgios as he might feel that he is losing precious time to try and defend, as well as gain ranking points before getting to the stage of the season where he needs to defend a high number of ranking points from the year before.
This is one of the challenges that Kyrgios will be facing this year. For the first time in his career, he will face the pressure of having to defend a high number of ranking points from a tournament in the previous year, his quarter-final result from Wimbledon 2014.
The challenge of defending a good result for the first time is a task that even the best young players have struggled with over recent years. It is something that Kyrgios is going to have to learn to deal with, both on a mental and emotional level, to have long-term success on the ATP World Tour. But the only way to learn about this is by being in those situations, and learning how to deal with that type of pressure.
He knows how to deal with the pressure of playing in front of a big crowd, as well as playing at home, while his ability to deal with pressure within a match is something not too many at his age have, but dealing with the pressure of defending ranking points will be a completely new experience.
So, can Nick Kyrgios finish 2015 in the top 20 in the ATP World Rankings?
Possibly, but it will depend on many of the factors that I have mentioned throughout this article. The fact is that every facet of his game, and his approach to the game, as well as certain aspects of his character, will be hugely tested by all the players on the tour. If Kyrgios can pass all the challenges that he will confront over the course of this year, he can certainly be a top 20 player by the end of the year.
However, with not too many younger players over the last five to 10 years being able to achieve this on their first full year on the ATP World Tour, it is far from being a certainty, despite his great result at the Australian Open.
It is going to be tough, but regardless of what happens this year, Kyrgios can and probably will be a future champion in the sport.
Whether it’s aces or races, try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp for great odds and a great punting experience. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Rafael Nadal has hailed the brilliance of Alex de Minaur, calling him "a great player" after the Australian forced the Spanish legend to say…
The clay season promises to be one of high level and tight margins. With the Monte Carlo open just around the corner, it will…
In incredible scenes, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz's quarter-final clash with Alexander Zverev at Indian Wells was halted abruptly due to a "bee invasion." Less…
Marathon man Jordan Thompson has finally clinched his first ATP Tour title, with the Australian upsetting Norwegian Casper Ruud to lift the trophy in…
Alex de Minaur has earned the perfect 25th birthday present, booking a place in the final of the Rotterdam Open with an emphatic revenge…
While watching the recent Australian Tennis Open I became obsessively fixated on the same thought. Why has no one done a television biopic or…
