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Nick Kyrgios needs to master emotions to unlock potential

Nick Kyrgios has a great chance of becoming a top ten player. (Photo: AFP)
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30th June, 2015
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In many respects, it was the passing on of the proverbial baton. As legend Lleyton Hewitt stoically succumbed in a five-setter in the first round of Wimbledon, Australia’s starlet Nick Kyrgios cruised into the second.

On a day where Lleyton Hewitt’s final hurrah at Wimbledon should’ve captured most of the attention, it was the antics of his younger compatriot that stole all the headlines. It was typically controversial fashion.

Not that there was anything controversial about his approach to the game. Following a Roland Garros campaign that ended in disappointment when he failed to lift against Andy Murray in the third round, and a poor lead-up to Wimbledon through illness and injury, the 20-year-old fought off baseliner Diego Schwartzman with gusto.

The Australian’s combination of aggressive groundstrokes, thunderous serve and that added touch of finesse at the net saw Kyrgios bagel Schwartzman in the first set in just 17 minutes, before he claimed the second 6-2 in similar fashion.

While ‘Kicks’ was guilty of errors in judgement at times, the opening two sets showed off his composure, maturity and promise.

This was quickly undone in the third set. Schwartzman slowly found his rhythm, and Kyrgios buckled.

At two sets to love up, 2-3 in the third set and down 15-30, a dubious decision by the umpire in relation to the timing of the linesman’s call saw the Aussie lose the point. Kyrgios insisted he would not play on until the tournament supervisor clarified the rules, before he turned around and allegedly called the umpire ‘dirty scum’.

“I wasn’t referring to the ref at all there. Yeah, I mean, it was towards myself,” was his reply, saying he wasn’t referring to the umpire at all. He also claimed that any possible sanctions “wouldn’t bother me one bit”.

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Audible outbursts and verbal obscenities are hardly a rarity. Kyrgios might be passionate, but there is a difference between passion and petulance, a line that Kyrgios seems to cross too often.

In his first round match at last year’s US Open, emotions got the better of him. He could be heard yelling expletives and berating himself. At the Australian Open earlier this year, not only was #NKRising fined $4926 for racquet abuse, but he also told a supporter to ‘get off your f***ing phone’ before taking another down for leaving the match prematurely.

It was a similar story in his loss to Andy Murray in the French Open this year, where commentators had to apologise to viewers for his on-court tirades.

For what it’s worth, Hewitt was also considered a problem child in his earlier years on tour. For Hewitt,it arguably led to his maturation as a player. His love-hate relationship with the media spurred him on to greater things, culminating in winning Wimbledon at the age of 21, on top of two US Opens.

But the examples of John McEnroe and Hewitt being successful despite their bad attitude early in their careers should not justify Kyrgios’ antics.

The physical and emotional commitment the 20-year-old approaches every game with is far too delicate. It either leaves him elated or exacerbated. The measure of a growth of a player depends on the way he responds to disappointments and the way he revels in triumphs.

While Kyrgios suggests that getting angry ‘sometimes’ improves his performances, he admits that most of the time it probably doesn’t.

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As the first teenager to make two quarter-final grand slam appearances in the space of a year since Roger Federer 14 years ago, the Australian public have jumped on board the Kyrgios bandwagon. This new interest follows years where Australian male tennis has dwelled in the abyss.

Alongside Bernard Tomic and Thanasi Kokkinakis, the trio are the future of Aussie tennis, and the future is bright.

But unlike Thanasi, Kyrgios is expected to match it with the elite right now. Being ranked 29th in world is testament to his rise on the circuit. To play consistently well at the top level, Kyrgios needs to direct his frustration towards winning, not raging. Only then will his full potential be realised.

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