If you don't want to play tennis then quit, Pat Cash tells Nick Kyrgios
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Former Wimbledon Champion Pat Cash has told Nick Kyrgios that if he doesn't want to play tennis seriously, he should quit the sport. Serena Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou also added to the outlash saying that strong personalities like Kyrgios have to be told when they are going too far.
"But he's got to have his fun ā if he doesn't want to play tennis then quit, that's fine. No problems. I'd be the first person to say 'well done' if he wants to do that," Cash said, reported Reuters.
"You've got to be really frank - I think it's about honesty. All these young guys, they get plenty of money and no one's told them the reality or truth of it all. It's not easy hearing the truth.
"It's really important that he gets a full, complete team around him that can handle the issues that are there. It's a holistic approach to Nick and it's not just about him performing on the tennis court. It's everything else that goes on around him that needs to be looked at."
I think all the best ones are strong personalities
It's not just Cash who has come out criticizing Australiaās top seed. John McEnroe, who was present in the studio covering the Australian Open, insisted that Kyrgios had given up on the match in the final set and had stopped trying altogether. He went on to label it as "a black eye for the sport.ā
Serena Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou added that Kyrgios should be given credit for accepting that he needed a coach. He went on to add that it was the strong personalities, like Kyrgios, that became champions.
"I think all the best ones are strong personalities, otherwise they wouldn't be champions," Mouratoglou said.
"It's not a confrontation but of course you have to show them your credibility. If they go too far you have to make the problem stop, you have to show that you have a strong personality too, but you respect them.
"If there is a confrontation the goal is that this confrontation leads to no more confrontation in the future. Sometimes it's necessary."
However, this isn't the first time that the Aussie has been in the news for the wrong reasons. He was banned for a period of eight weeks and fined $25,000 by the ATP for his deplorable behavior at the Shanghai Masters where he threw the match against Mischa Zverev. The 21-year-old even got involved in a verbal spat with a fan, telling him, "You wanna come here and play? Sit down, shut up and watch". In the aftermath of the Aussie Open display, his home press asked him to"get professional or get out".
Whether or not his actions will change in the future remains to be seen, but a coach will go a long way in helping theĀ Aussie youngster fulfill his tremendous potential.
