Get professional or get out of here – Australian media to Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios once again finds himself in the eye of a storm after his second round Australian Open exit at the hands of Andreas Seppi. The 21-year-old threw away a two-set lead in the match and faced the wrath of the Australian media and John McEnroe in the studio for his perceived lack of effort.
Nick Kyrgios, who was playing in his first tournament since serving the eight-week ban handed out at the end of the Shanghai Masters in October last year, was booed off the court by his fellow countrymen on Wednesday. The mercurial talent continues to divide opinions, but very few were by his side after he once again threw tantrums on the court and blamed everything in the universe but himself after surrendering a 2-set lead and failed to convert a match point in the final set.
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.”
This is, of course, not the first time McEnroe had criticized the young Australian for his attitude, and this time Kyrgios took a dig at him while replying to questions from the Australian media.
Well, my body was sore. I was hurting. I mean, John McEnroe, was it John McEnroe? Good on him. Great career. Good on him.
Kyrgios
When asked to comment about McEnroe’s criticism, Kyrgios said, "Well, my body was sore. I was hurting. I mean, John McEnroe, was it John McEnroe? Good on him. Great career. Good on him."
When he was asked to describe the pain in his knee, he said, "I don't know, mate. Ask Johnny Mac. He knows everything."
Even when he was asked whether he had visited a sports psychologist this week, he replied, "Johnny Mac will know, mate. Just talk to him. He knows everything."
Clearly, McEnroe had touched a nerve, and it did not end there for Kyrgios, though. The World no.13 was slammed by the Australian media.
The Courier Mail had a huge splash of Kyrgios on its back page with the graphic of a baby’s dummy being spat from his mouth – the headline read, “Now Nick off. Kyrgios loses and acts like a child doing it.”
Another Australian newspaper led with the headline: “Kyrgios adds to shame file.”
An editorial in the paper read, “Pride has brought him undone. And the fear of commitment. He’s scared of how great he could be. It’s been cooler to exude indifference. Get a coach. Get professional. Or get out of here.”
Get a coach. Get professional. Or get out of here.
The general consensus is that Kyrgios needs a coach, and even the volatile tennis star has agreed to that. He said, "The coach is always a question mark for me. I think that's one area where I obviously need to start taking a bit more seriously. I mean, I don't think there's anyone in the top 100 without a coach except for me. That needs to change."
However, not many will be lining up to coach him due to his reputation. Former Australian great Pat Cash has said that he would not last a minute as Kyrgios’ coach. “Why would I want to get involved in a job like that? If it was Lleyton Hewitt, the same thing, Bernard Tomic or Nick Kyrgios or Andy Murray. If they started screaming at me and abusing me in the box, I would just pack up and walk out. I’ve got too much respect for myself,” Cash told Melbourne radio station 3AW.
When asked about the crowd booing him off the court, Kyrgios said,"Obviously it's not the greatest thing to hear. Pretty banged up, my body. I don't even know what the score was in the end ... getting booed off, definitely not the best feeling."
He also said that he deserved the criticism he has received from the media. "No. I deserve it. I deserve it. I'm a bad guy," he said before signing off.
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