Kyrgios goes off

[stroke]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/may/16/nick-kyrgios-slams-cringeworthy-djokovic-and-salty-nadal-ahead-of-french-open

[nytennisaddict]

at least he's consistent with being the villain everyone loves in tennis.

[don_budge]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...of-french-open

Nick Kyrgios unleashed. I actually see the truth and the reasoning behind it. Novak Djokovic is nauseating in his quest to be loved. There is nothing in that blowing kisses to the crowd that is redeeming. There are as many idiots in the crowd as there are normal persons...why go through the motions. He doesn't give a rat's behind for people in the crowd. Rafael Nadal? Don't get me started and Nick didn't go far enough. Nick doesn't lose any ground here with me with his comments. I just hope that he comes around to taking the game a more seriously before it is too late for him to make the impression that he is potentially capable of making on the game as a player. Not just a recalcitrant. He has already beaten Daniil Medvedev in this tournament...just keep the noodle in the game and see what you can accomplish DUDE!!!

stroke...you've tagged him perfectly. Too cool for school. Here he is proving that once more. Upsetting the applecart that is the ATP elite.

[nytennisaddict]

i wonder if NK is a genius in his approach to how he wants to manage his career.
he seems injury prone, so imagine if he put in a boat load more effort, he'll end up like murray, with a shortened career.
maybe his goal is to be like a better ivo, similarly playing into his 40's, making an extremely comfortable living.

[stroke]

DB, you are of course spot on about Nick here. Like Stotty, I cannot warm to him, but I do agree with all he said. I like Novak a lot but he does try way too hard to be liked, it is just probably too important to him, but to his credit, he has faced it head on(Roger) and won some huge wins over Roger with the crowd clearly wanting Roger to win way more that him. That is most impressive. Nick's words/digs would have carried more weight if he could have advanced deep into this tournament, but not our Nick. It was really funny what he said about Verdasco. Verdasco to me has always been one of the biggest princesses on tour.

[nytennisaddict]

if being liked was also associated with endorsement deals, i would definitely be hiring a publicist to figure out how to remake my image.

[don_budge]

The genius of Nick Kyrgios. It could be that he is some sort of "idiot savant".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-FiL5CaLpQ

idiot savant | ˌiːdjəʊ saˈvɒ̃, ˌɪdɪəʊ |
noun (plural idiot savants or idiots savants pronounced same)
a person who has a mental disability or learning difficulties but is extremely gifted in a particular way, such as the performing of feats of memory or calculation.

• a person who is extremely unworldly but displays natural wisdom and insight.

French, literally 'knowledgeable idiot'.

[jeffreycounts]

In my opinion Nick needs to hang it up. He hates tennis and seems tortured having to play it. Just because you're naturally great at something doesn't mean you like it. It's getting painful to watch his career. And it really doesn't help the sport to go sound off on everyone at the top of the game when you can barely complete a match. Having said that, his comments about Verdasco intrigued me. Verdasco went off on a ball boy last year and was a real jerk. So I'm with Nick on that. Other than that - take your millions and go do something that makes you happy. Save yourself and everyone else the heartache of watching you be miserable. Life is too short.

[stroke]

I think the chair umpire did a great job with Nick yesterday. I was watching the match, but the feed had no commentary, and Nick just manufactured some beef in the 1st set and the umpire gave him a code violation and called for a supervisor. Nick then quickly picked up a 2nd code violation and point penalty. Of course, in the 3rd set, he was defaulted. His antics are just pitiful. And going off on someone like Verdasco for being a princess, which is probably true, it is lost on him that he too is a massive princess. Imo, tennis need to suspend him through at least the grass court season. Treat him like a child, take away his privilege to play and see if he wants to make a change. He is not good for the game no matter how many clueless commentators may say he is.

[stroke]

The genius of Nick Kyrgios. It could be that he is some sort of "idiot savant".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-FiL5CaLpQ

idiot savant | ˌiːdjəʊ saˈvɒ̃, ˌɪdɪəʊ |
noun (plural idiot savants or idiots savants pronounced same)
a person who has a mental disability or learning difficulties but is extremely gifted in a particular way, such as the performing of feats of memory or calculation.

• a person who is extremely unworldly but displays natural wisdom and insight.

French, literally 'knowledgeable idiot'.

to me, he is way heavier on the idiot than the savant

[nytennisaddict]

In my opinion Nick needs to hang it up. He hates tennis and seems tortured having to play it. Just because you're naturally great at something doesn't mean you like it. It's getting painful to watch his career. And it really doesn't help the sport to go sound off on everyone at the top of the game when you can barely complete a match. Having said that, his comments about Verdasco intrigued me. Verdasco went off on a ball boy last year and was a real jerk. So I'm with Nick on that. Other than that - take your millions and go do something that makes you happy. Save yourself and everyone else the heartache of watching you be miserable. Life is too short.

problem is that he's got golden handcuffs... he might hate it, but it pays well.
agassi was in a similar hateful boat, that eventually sunk him to 141 in the world... but clearly he turned his life around.
i'm crossing my fingers for NK.

[don_budge]

In my opinion Nick needs to hang it up. He hates tennis and seems tortured having to play it. Just because you're naturally great at something doesn't mean you like it. It's getting painful to watch his career. And it really doesn't help the sport to go sound off on everyone at the top of the game when you can barely complete a match. Having said that, his comments about Verdasco intrigued me. Verdasco went off on a ball boy last year and was a real jerk. So I'm with Nick on that. Other than that - take your millions and go do something that makes you happy. Save yourself and everyone else the heartache of watching you be miserable. Life is too short.

This is, of course, a most logical train of thought. It is what you call a growing consensus. Conventional thought. Nothing about what Nick Kyrgios says or opines causes an emotional reaction with me. I find his comments amusing. Harmless. If it sparks some debate or conversation all the better. His remarks about both Nadal and Djokovic are interesting and what's the harm. So much energy is put Into collectively kissing these two on the butt...I find that more nauseating than anything the "Loose Canon" has to say. I think that he really found the mark particularly with Nadal. As for Djokovic...this guy is as boring to watch play tennis as it comes. Ironically he is on top of the game ever since he went "Meteoric" around eight years ago. I saw him at the French Open play Milos Raonic and I was literally falling asleep the whole time. A very, very expensive lullaby. He's overrated. If modern athletics has become entertainment than this guy is sorely missing the point. In addition to the ticket at the French Open I needed about six cups of French java to stay awake.

But the concerning aspect of the remarks is as jeffreycounts points out is the lack of introspection. To go out and virtually tank the next day is just bad PR. Not just for Nick unfortunately but for the sport. Like it or not...he is a representative. Sadly he represents Australia too which is a black eye to a great tradition and a great history. But isn't it ironic that he is doing what the real world is doing? Rejecting convention. Rejecting tradition. What we see in Nick is what we are seeing in the world at large. It's a "Brave New World". The new normal. He'll get away with it it seems as there is no backbone for discipline anymore. Too many reasons that it shouldn't be applied. It's too late as it is. Nick is well along in his "too cool for school" attitude and act. No amount of discipline or punishment is going to help.

I wonder what the root cause of his dysfunction is. Where did this disdain come from? I can imagine having a conversation with him...just a sit down between two guys. One tries to imagine how his mind is working. But it is difficult to admit for me that simple isn't working at all. I think one of the most serious sins a person can commit is to not make use of their God given talent. Granted that there is much folly in youth but once you reach a certain age...a certain point in life you have to grow up and put childish things aside.

[stroke]

It may very well be too late for Nick, as db says, he is too far gone, too entrenched in his behavior to ever change, but I actually think he could. If he were suspended until maybe the hard court season, it would get his attention. As much as he says he does not like tennis, I am not buying. I think he likes the money. lifestyle, and attention it gets him. If all the umpires just handled him like the one did at the Italian Open, I think we would see a change sooner rather than later. Just matter of factly move through the code violation protocol until he picks up his 3rd one(or whatever the match default one is) and move on. He completely manufactured his beef at the Italian Open and it is such a tired act. He is so not cool. Novak is way cooler than Nick and I have never thought of Novak as particularly cool. Like most other things tennis, Roger is the coolest of all time. As Nick might say if he had any self awareness, "I am the polar opposite".

[johnyandell]

Bipolar opposite...

[stotty]

The best way to deal with Nick is to give him no publicity whatsoever when he behaves badly. No press conferences, no media coverage...zero. Treat him as you would a spoilt child having a tantrum. Ignore him completely and have a conversation once he stopped throwing his toys around. Keep up such a policy and he may improve. It will never happen, only the opposite will, but that's the way to do it. He's essentially a child who wants attention. That's all there is to him.

On the other hand, Wawrinka, who is no fan of Nick'a, might just get mad enough to give him a right hook. That could work too. You wouldn't want to goad a strong man like Stan too much.