There’s no disputing Nick Kyrgios is a unique talent. As recently as last week, even former great John McEnroe stated that he thinks Kyrgios can be the best player in the world.
But despite the constant opinion on why he continues to underachieve, or who can turn his form around, I’ve decided to find the statistics that compare Kyrgios to tennis royalty at the same point in their careers.
Nick Kyrgios is currently 21 years of age. As of today, his best result at a Grand Slam tournament is a quarter-final appearance.
That point of the tournament is when 16 players are left competing, mirroring his current world ranking of 18th. He has achieved this feat twice, both at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
Kyrgios has also won one career title, breaking through in Marseille, where his serve was not broken throughout the entire tournament.
Now for most looking in, having a resume that reads this way is enviable. But to those who know their tennis, 21 is a ripe age where the greats are already on their way to solidifying themselves in the top five to ten players in the world.
Take a look at when the following players broke through for their first Grand Slam win, not a semi final appearance, not a finals loss – but a Grand Slam win.
Roger Federer – 21 years of age, won his first Grand Slam
Lleyton Hewitt – 20 years of age, won his first Grand Slam
Andy Roddick – 21 years of age, won his first Grand Slam
Rafael Nadal – 19 years of age, won his first Grand Slam
Novak Djokovic – 20 years of age, won his first Grand Slam
Juan Martin Del Potro – 20 years of age, won his first Grand Slam
Andy Murray – 25 years of age, won his first Grand Slam, first Grand Slam finals appearance at 21, being the US Open
The exception to the rule is Andy Murray, who went winless at Grand Slams until recently. But despite the record, he did lose his first at the same age as Kyrgios is currently.
What this shows to me is one of three things.
Number one, Nick Kyrgios is not as technically gifted as the seven greats of the games mentioned. Or in other words, he is simply not good enough to be winning Grand Slams.
Number two, Nick, like Andy, is blossoming later in his career than most normally would.
Number three, Kyrgios does not have the commitment, mental strength or guidance to get the last ten per cent out of his game.
Frustratingly, if legends like McEnroe and other tennis experts that comment on the game continue to see Kyrgios as a future world number one, his metaphorical clock is ticking.
Compare him to Lleyton Hewitt for example. Few will dispute that Krygios has a better all round game than Hewitt, but the little Aussie got more out of himself than most athletes could ever dream of. For Nick, the talent seems to be there, but that last ten per cent that’s needed to be great is letting him down.
There’s no doubt that competing against the likes of Djokovic, Murray, Federer and Nadal is stemming his winning ways, because they’re once-in-a-generation players. However, for such a young, talented and brash competitor he needs to be performing better than he currently is.
A change needs to come in the way of a fresh coach, with the same philosophy as the Sydney Swans ‘no dickhead’ policy.
Nick, if you want to be the best in the world, you will be. But if you don’t, just come out and publicly tell everyone you’re happy with being world number 18 and we’ll stop trying to point you in the right direction.
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