Australian tennis and Australian sport in general is buzzing after the run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals by 19-year-old Nick Kyrgios.
This included defeating the World No.1 Rafael Nadal, who was the No.2 seed for the tournament, and defeating Richard Gasquet after coming from two sets down and saving nine match points.
The road to the top can be a long road, and a road that can take you in various different directions. This is even more so the case today due to the level of attainment being at a much greater level than in the past, which is because of the tougher, physical nature that the sport of tennis, especially in the men’s game/
You have a look at Bernard Tomic, and the rollercoaster ride he has been on throughout his still young career, and you can see how tough the road to the top is and can be. At this stage of his career, he is currently in I would like to call the repair shop.
Almost every player that comes onto the tour today will visit the repair shop, often for a reasonable period of time. Many of the younger players that have been on the tour to a larger or lesser extent over recent years have visited this invisible, yet real repair shop to process, fix, refine, and sort out their games.
Tomic is in this process right now, and has probably been in the shop since Wimbledon 2012.
Tomic’s playing style can be for many people a complicated one to understand, but when you watch him, you can see a bag of wonderful skills that are just about world class in every way but don’t gel.
His ranking at the start of Wimbledon 2012 was No.28. Tomic’s highest ranking during his time in the shop was No.39. Once he leaves the repair shop, his level of play, or talent alone would be consistently between a player ranked 14th to 39th in the world, which would mean he would get to a ranking somewhere between 14 and 39 in a reasonably short space of time.
Then, it will be the hard work and dedication that has been criticised by many that will determine how much further he will go.
For Nick Kyrgios, he is currently in a similar position to where Tomic was after Wimbledon in 2011. He will quickly become the hunted, rather than the hunter, so it will be interesting to see over the next 12 months whether he can handle the pressure of defending his points and ranking.
The playing style of Kyrgios is easier to understand for most people. He is an offensive baseliner, with the ability to play an all-court game.
He has big weapons, and an athletic build similar to Gael Monfils, which I think Kyrgios is using in a better way compared to the Monfils. What I would say that is that he wears his emotions on his sleeves, a typical trait of an offensive and aggressive baseliner.
His tendency to get emotional could be a weakness. I think he will probably have to visit the repair shop, but for not as long as Tomic, to correct deficiencies in his game.
The result of this I think will be that by the end of 2018, we will see both Kyrgios and Tomic inside the Top 5/10, and challenging for them.
How many Australians are going to be in the Top 100 by the end of 2018? I predict there will be six Australian men in the Top 100 by the end of 2018.
They are Tomic and Kyrgios, plus James Duckworth (Top 50), Jordan Thompson (Top 60), Matthew Ebden (Top 90), and Luke Saville (Top 100). And with other players challenging from behind, Australia has the opportunity to grow this number and create a great era for men’s tennis in Australia.
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.
After a double fault saw Novak Djokovic exit the Monte Carlo Masters to Casper Ruud at the semi-final stage, the Serbian's hopes of a…
Alex de Minaur has missed out on the chance of a lifetime to beat Rafael Nadal on clay in successive tournaments, blown away by…
Former Wimbledon champion, double grand slam winner and Australian Open finalist Garbine Muguruza has announced her retirement from tennis at the age of 30.…
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…
