Nick Kyrgios called on the Australian government to “do better” in the wake of the Novak Djokoivc deportation debacle, the challenge for him is to do the same.
Kyrgios was knocked out of the Australian Open on Thursday night after a 7-6 6-4 4-6 6-2 loss to Russian world No.2 Daniil Medvedev.
There is no shame in losing to the highest-ranked remaining men’s player in the draw after Djokovic was eventually shown the exit ramp at Melbourne Airport on the eve of the tournament.
In his own unique way, Kyrgios went toe to toe with the US Open champion but in the end, Medvedev’s unrelentless high-percentage play was always going to conquer the Australian’s unbelievable flamboyance mixed with a few barely believably errors.
Kyrgios proved he is an elite talent, capable of giving the best a run for their money. He should be ranked in the top 20 at least. But the problem throughout much of Kyrgios’ eight years on the professional circuit has been his commitment to the lesser events.
Due mainly to the pandemic, the 26-year-old Canberran only competed in eight ATP Tour events in 2021. Hopefully there are fewer hurdles to international sportspeople this year and the tour can continue without too many interruptions.
Kyrgios not only needs to up the quantity of tournaments he competes in but drastically increase the quality of effort he puts in away from the four majors.
As it happened: Medvedev v Kyrgios
However he sources the motivation, he needs to realise that it’s so much easier going into a grand slam as a seeded player not the proverbial wild card who pops up anywhere and can face a quality opponent like Medvedev in the second round if the draw is unkind.
To be seeded he needs a higher ranking than his current 115 status – he hasn’t been in the top 50 since March and the last time he was seeded at a grand slam was at the 2020 Australian Open.
He can’t get back in seeded territory unless he gives as much effort at a windswept tour event in one of the smaller cities rather than the bright lights of Melbourne Park, Roland Garros, Wimbledon or New York.
His effort could not be questioned for much of his clash with Medvedev.
In the first set, he dropped serve in his second attempt but after nearly going down a second break, he fought back to draw level at 4-4.
Kyrgioss, who pre-tournament build-up was interrupted by a bout of COVID-19, was facing break point again the next game but thundered down an unplayable serve, hit a backhand wide on game point before finally holding to take a 5-4 advantage.
Medvedev kept his cool to force a tie break and held firm while Kyrgios tried too many fancy options as the Russian took it out 7-1 to wrap up the first set in 62 minutes.
The second set followed a similar tale – Medvedev rarely looked flustered on serve while Kyrgios scrapped his way to each game. He looked shot trailing 4-3 but despite gifting a point to his opponent with an innocuous underarm serve, Kyrgios again rallied to hold serve to a rousing roar from the Rod Laver Arena crowd.
Trailing 4-5 and 15-30, Kyrgios coughed up only his second double-fault to hand Medvedev two set points and after forfeiting the first opportunity when he pushed a volley long, the 25-year-old nominal second seed was handed the next one when Kyrgios did likewise with what should have been a routine backhand shot during a lengthy rally.
Two sets down and facing a near-insurmountable task, Kyrgios refused to yield in the third but still struggled to get a racquet on his opponent’s serves with Medvedev going past 20 aces.
In the seventh game Kyrgios gained double break point after a superb reflex winner – he then proceeded to do a victory lap around his half of the court, looked gassed for the next point and sent the return into the net.
But then he regrouped on the next point to fire a forehand down the line to go up a break at 4-3.
In the next game he chased down a lob with a sensational tweener return before wrapping up the seemingly unwinnable point on the way to a 5-3 buffer, sending the already revved-up crowd into raptures.
In true Kyrgios fashion, he ended up icing the third set 6-4 with a drop shot which caught out an unsuspecting Medvedev, who sprinted forward to no avail.
Kyrgios blew a golden chance to continue his momentum in the fourth set when after reaching break point on Medvedev, he had his opponent at his mercy after a lengthy exchange but shanked what should have been the forehand winner wide.
The sixth game of the set proved decisive – Medvedev built a couple of break points and blasted the second one past Kyrgios down the line for a 4-2 lead.
Serving to stay in the match, Kyrgios was penalised the first point of the game for smashing his racquet and Medvedev showed no mercy to finish the Australian off in a tick under three hours.
Curmudgeon1961
Roar Rookie
Trumped!
Curmudgeon1961
Roar Rookie
Oh Paul Don't waste the ink. His window is closed if he wanted to look out. In his first match he only disrespected his opponent and himself. The rest of us don't matter opinion wise
Angela
Roar Rookie
Both are entertainers. The way they manage to get under your skin is telling. 'some time in the future he will look back & think what could have been as far as Grand Slams are concerned had his application matched his talent.' a) how could you possibly have any idea what Kyrgios thinks, either now or in the future. b) you sound like a sermonising old 1950s headmaster that no one takes any notice of. c) how do you know what parents might think about their daughter dating Kyrgios? Off-court, he seems to be highly regarded. I wouldn't mind him coming to dinner. What fun.
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
There is no mystery to it. It’s because winning a major requires a feral level of commitment to tennis that Kyrgios has indicated time after time that he has no interest in devoting his life to. He’s just not that into it. And that’s fine. It’s his life. It’s not like he’s a footballer being employed by a club and owes an employer or teammates his best efforts. Unless it’s Davis Cup or the Olympics, he’s representing no one but himself.
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
The point is - considering his talent, he should have won a major by now. Probably more than one actually. So…why not?
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
I’m not convinced Stosur could have done much more than she did in the singles. If anything, she’s the opposite - managed to over-achieve due to sheer hard work and determination.
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
I reckon Kyrgios has way more talent than Tomic.
Peter Darrow
Roar Guru
Well, the Roar isnt exactly the local pub we used to go to and debate about sport is it?. What a cess pit social media is. I do expect better from a sports website. I do enjoy seeing my articles getting published here and will always be grateful for that. But the vile nature of the debates leaves a lot to be desired. Does no one have a sense of humour any more? Or is it a case of someone has a differing opinion, lets destroy him. This thread is a prime example. Full of envious people who will never reach the same level of success as Kyrgios. What have you ever done with your lives? So what if he provokes a few people, doesn't reach his potential? What difference does it make to you, or is this just a place to vent your miserable frustrations with life. Your basic problem is that you are living lives in denial and are not strong enough to come out with your own opinion. The usual suspects, my friend Son of Coco, Waxhead, sheek etc. Try and be more positive, this site could be very good but is ruined by the rudeness, insults, so what if a guy has a different opinion to you? What difference does it really make to your lives? Or is this the wonderful cancel culture we all hear about. I await your feedback because I know you cannot resist it.
Waxhead
Roar Rookie
@Grey-Hand yes I agree but nothing to get excited about either - 6-2 in 4th set. And just shows you what potential Krygios has if he'd stop trying to be an entertainer and concentrated on winning tennis matches instead. To do this though he needs a personality bypass and start being, dedicated, consistent, humble, hard working, super fit, close all his social media accounts and just shut up. He also needs a full time coach. The under-arm serves just lose him points and have to stop. Same with his unnecessary between the legs returns. He deliberately runs past the ball to do these. These are just party tricks that lose him points.
Waxhead
Roar Rookie
@Matt Football and Tennis are 2 completely different games. Football has had many episodes of hoodlum crowds with numerous stadium tragedies and deaths. Is this where you want Tennis to go Matt ?? The strict rules in tennis are in place for very good reasons and are fully supported by the Pro Tennis Association. Tennis also has a long history of being a gentleman's sport where everyone is respected equally. If you don't like this don't watch it. Real tennis fans certainly do not want the Krygios groupies at tournaments. Medvedev's comments were spot on imo - only thing I slightly disagree with him was he said the Krygios fans are "low IQ" ..... I say "zero IQ" :laughing: And so is Karl S :thumbup:
Gray-Hand
Roar Rookie
You rate tennis players based on whether they are boyfriend material?
Dumbo
Roar Rookie
In tennis, Samantha Stosur. Won one major – had the talent to win more. Ash Taylor, Chris Sandow and several other NRL players immediately spring to mind. AFL I’ll leave to others to nominate. I’d be surprised if there were not as many as NRL players.
PeteB
Roar Rookie
Why is he facing the top seed in the second round ? Covid can be used as an excuse for his lack of tournaments in the past year I guess, but he has a long history of dropping out of tournaments and giving up during matches. Currently ranked 115 in the world which is about right. Laughable that our media still give him so much time.
sheek
Roar Guru
GentleGeorge, You don't mean ox---on?
sheek
Roar Guru
GentleGeorge, Are you suggesting I've used an oxymoron? You're probably right!
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
He provides me with “joy” as well when he loses. Petulant, I’ll- mannered, foul mouthed & immature. The type of young man any girl would love to take home to meet her parentsJ
sheek
Roar Guru
GentleGeorge, Are you tripping me up for an oxymoron? You're probably right!
GentleGeorge
Guest
So Sheek, confirming you are referring to young Greek Australian Kyrgios fans as ‘vacuous airheads’ ?
Angela
Roar Rookie
I've been watching some of the matches that interest me - usually when an Aussie is playing - but find I end up switching off after a couple of sets owing to finding the match boring (even Ash Barty's). I played a lot of tennis in my youth/young adulthood so it's a sport I understand and one in which I know what's going on. The only match that I've watched through to the end was last night's. Kyrgios is entertaining and electric. Sure, if he worked harder and was more disciplined he maybe could be a number 1, or at least consistently in the top 10 but it seems that's just not him. Even when he's being appalling he generates a weird fascination as to what he might do or say next that I find riveting. Obviously, I'm not alone. Have to say a lot of the comments here are stuffy, virtuous and boring. This is not to suggest that I condone the worst aspects of his behaviour (eg the time he told Warwrinka in between sets the nasty rumour about Warwrinka's girlfriend was indeed the bottom of the barrel) ,however, he does seem to have managed to curb a lot of those regrettable outbreaks. Most of the 'booing' last night was the ridiculous sooing or whatever it's called that has come to us via soccer (another reason to dislike that particular sport) which is actually meant as a kind of encouraging cheer - as far as I can work out. Certainly when Medvedev was talking to Courier that's what the noise was, meant as a congratulatory cheer, not booing. Unfortunately, Medvedev took it as booing. Historically, Aussie tennis crowds have generally been generous in their applause especially compared to other countries, eg Spain where players get spat on and treated appallingly. It's also interesting how all players, when asked, say how much they like Kyrgios off the court. 'Good bloke'. And, comparisons with Tomic are way out. Tomic comes across as a dour, unintelligent, damaged, bloke with no sense of humour and a deep grudge against the world. No joy. Lots of joy in Kyrgios
matth
Roar Guru
Karl’s a bit of a twit. I don’t think anyone listens to him. That includes his mates from before he ‘made it’