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Kyrgios h8er eh? You’ve come to the right place.
Take another potshot at a 20-year-old in the third round of Wimbledon. Why not? He’s just an insolent kid who was brought up being told he was the best, right?
Maybe. Or he’s very deliberately crafting an image of being an outspoken, interesting, funny person who does whatever he wants.
The real answer probably lies somewhere in the middle, but where does naivety end and being a tool begin?
That’s what all this comes down to, right? We’re worried that our Nick, little Nick, is going to be a tool, rather than a legend.
And that would be bad for Australian sport. Whatever that means.
But so long as he gets fair warning about the potential consequences of what comes with outspokenness I’m all for Nick Kyrgios dropping bombshells in interviews and throwing on-court tantrums.
Not only does he show a good understanding of how to manipulate the media in doing so, but he also shows he’s well read. Oscar Wilde might attest.
Because the one thing worse than being controversial is being boring. We just don’t need another boring sports star. There are plenty to choose from already – factory-produced from club-run media courses run by ex-journos, where the message is to say a lot of words, but actually say nothing.
Good on Kyrgios for rejecting that. Sport needs villains.
“I go out there and I like to entertain. I like to put on a bit of a show.”
Good, lest tennis become 32-bounce pre-serve routines and making sure your water bottle labels align.
“I don’t really like the sport of tennis that much.”
Don’t like tennis? Awesome. Like basketball more? Great! Hell, here’s an open invitation to write NBA columns on The Roar, Nick. Get in touch any time
I don’t care if any of it makes a lick of sense; if that’s what you feel like saying, go right ahead. I’ll write about it.
Kyrgios will figure out whether it was a good thing to say later on.
“I think laughing is pretty important. If you don’t laugh in a day it’s pretty boring, so I like making my friends and family happy and putting a smile on people’s faces. When you hit a nice shot in tennis everyone enjoys it and that’s important. Some players don’t really interact with the crowd, they’re really serious. But I think it’s part of my personality. When I go out there, I like to put on a bit of a show.
“I’ve probably watched that shot against Rafa about 100 times, honestly. I was love-40 down so it didn’t make much difference but it was pretty good. I practise tweeners all the time in training, so I thought it was the right shot.
“Me and Rafa don’t talk too much. We probably don’t have the greatest relationship, like me and Roger do. But I’m more than open to having lunch with the guy; I’m not shying away from anything like that.”
What about that? Where were the headlines about that?
My take – honest, open, insightful, interesting. More interesting than 99% of what comes out of players’ and coaches’ mouths, and that was the boring bit!
There is a real danger in being overly preachy about someone like Kyrgios. Amidst the outrage, you lose perspective on what it’s like for those competing at the tip top of their sport.
Remember Roger Federer? No, not the ice man. The young, angry Federer. I’m talking the Federer with a ponytail and a sour attitude.
The simple fact is that young players get angry. Old players get angry too, just not as often. Unless you’re Marat Safin, but by that point we’d just accepted it – “Good old Safin. What’s he upset about this time?”
His on-court tanty would then be followed up by an endearingly open interview, where the reporter asks him about his unique ability to lose his shit. It would be all smiles.
Good old Marat. The villain we love.
Bad young Kyrgios. The tool we hate.
We haven’t yet accepted Kyrgios. We’re still working out who he is. And at 20, it’s simply not good enough to be a tool.
Brazen confidence, speed stripes in your hair and saying whatever the hell you want are all indicators of an arrogant young man. Take his on-court tantrums to the ratings board.
Why can’t our Nick be more like little Thanasi Kokkinakis? There’s a tennis player you can set your watch to. At least until he throws his first racquet – then we’ll have him.
I’m a 26-year-old male who throws ping pong bats in the office when I lose.
With a million bucks on the line? I would be losing my mind.
Those ‘outraged’ by Kyrgios’ antics need to ask themselves what their expectations of this 20-year-old really are. And don’t confuse your desires with your expectations.
This is a 20-year-old, playing tennis. The difference is he plays it in front of 20 million people, where we play it in front of two.
Does that make his outbursts less acceptable?
Probably. But what is acceptable? Is his honesty acceptable? Do we take one without the other, and are they mutually exclusive?
Or should we just leach off the faux-outrage his actions cause? In fact, ‘kicks’ has a new nickname around these parts – ‘clicks’!
Get it? You might not, it’s a digital media thing.
The guy is 20. He will learn.
Speaking of learning, here’s a great life lesson, courtesy of the Simpsons, about the nature of elephants.
“Some of them act badly because they’ve had a hard life or been mistreated. But, like people, some of them are just jerks.”
If Kyrgios wants to be a villain, or a jerk, then that’s fine. Just like in tennis, he is in a position to make that call, as the chair umpire of his own destiny and behaviour.
But if it turns out to be the wrong call, then he knows who to direct his tirade at, and it won’t be Carlos Ramos.
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