Nick Kyrgios : Alex Zverev has never made it to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, I have
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios said that he has made quarterfinals of two Grand Slam events while his contemporary Alexander Zverev has made none when the media compared him to the German. The 22-year old further stated that he had never lost to the German and feels no inferiority complex.
Nick Kyrgios who is known for his flamboyant nature recently clarified that he feels no inferiority complex to his contemporaries, although the likes of youngsters like Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem have beaten Kyrgios in the race to the World Top 10 rankings with Zverev at number 10 while Thiem at number 8.
Zverev made his presence felt when he beat the 12-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic at the Italian Open finals to claim the title. However, the Australian did not seem to be impressed by the 20-year old's win.
"I've never lost to him so I don't look at it and think 'it should have been me'," Kyrgios said of Zverev, as reported by ESPN.
"He's a great player and does everything right. He's very professional. His consistency seems to be pretty good. He's playing deep through tournaments. He's so young and has amazing potential and is going to be contending for grand slams. But has he made the quarterfinal of a grand slam? No. I've made two."
The Australian also took a dig on John McEnroe who suggested taking over as his part-time coach. McEnroe has been one of Kyrgios' most consistent critics but has always admired his talent. Commentating at the French Open, McEnroe said that, if he were to take any part-time coaching job who would he coach. And he responded by saying, "The guy that would make the most sense on paper would be Nick Kyrgios because we are two head cases."
"He's dreaming," Kyrgios replied to McEnroe's suggestion.
The World No. 20 is known to attract crowd courtesy his on-court antics and brilliance which has resulted in the Australian featuring in the Queen's Club Championship's main draw on Saturday ahead of World No. 1 Andy Murray. However, the 22-year old admitted that he is trying hard to maintain his focus on the game.
"I am not thinking about top five [(ranking] at the moment," he said. "I am just trying to get through every day, trying to play and put as much effort in as I can, because I know when I start thinking ahead -- how much time I have ahead, goals and stuff -- I'll start losing motivation and won't try."
Kyrigos also heaped praised on compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis who was forced to sit out the 2016 season due to an injury that saw him fall from No. 65 to No. 993 in the world rankings. Kokkinakis has been awarded a wild card for the Queen's Club Championship and will face Milos Raonic in the first round.
"Hitting with him today, his level is so high," Kyrgios said. "As soon as he gets his body right and as soon as he gets some more luck, he'll be right up there with Zverev and Thiem. "If he's healthy he'll produce. Look at what he did against Nishikori at the French Open. He took him to four, nearly five sets in only his second match back."
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