Kyrgios, the metamorphosis of the terrible child of tennis

An ace has completed a game in which it has never fallen off the fragile wire on which it is moving. Between genius and madness. After putting the final point against Daniil Medvedev, world No. 1 and defending champion, Nick Kyrgios quietly joined the net. Without saying anything. “ I didn’t celebrate more than that after the match point: it was only a round of 16 “, he summarized. Nick Kyrgios has changed. The final played at Wimbledon acted as a revealer.

Driven by his taste for the show, he remains and will remain capable of eccentricities (the point lost for playing a ball in Medvedev’s part of the fieldat the beginning of the 3^e set is the perfect illustration of this), untimely racket throws and will remain under the threat of warnings for inappropriate remarks or spitting (as during his 2^e tour in New York against Benjamin Bonzi). So goes Kyrgios (seed n°23; 27 years old), the enfant terrible of the circuit. But he has set himself an ambition, illustrated by 26 successes in his last 31 matches. His last two sets gave the perfect illustration of what his game does with dazzling, risk-taking, can cause damage. Few players can turn Daniil Medvedev into a sparring partner. Tossed about like a wisp of straw, the Russian took the blows, saw the laser strikes pass without having a say. The solid wall was a sieve. Impressive. Daniil Medvedev summed up: “ Nick played at the level of Novak and Rafa. He has a different game because he doesn’t grind you down. But he is able to play long rallies. It is difficult to play. He’s got incredible serve, he’s got all the shots. He played at a very high level and I think if he plays like that until the end, he has every chance of winning the tournament. “. “ I felt so liberated in the third and fourth set. I had a lot of fun “Slipped Kyrgios.

Before developing: “I am happy to finally be able to show my talent, my work and my dedication in New York. Finally ! It took me 27 years. I feel like I’ve always been average here. You get easily distracted in this town. I haven’t shown Flushing Meadows what I’m capable of. I had never won on the Arthur Ashe court before this week and here I did it twice against two very good players (his compatriot and accomplice Thanasi Kokkinakis at 1^er tower and Daniil Medvedev). There are a lot of stars here, important people watching. I wanted to step onto this court and show them that I can lay low and win those big matches. It is also important vis-à-vis the world of tennis. People were starting to doubt my ability to pull off these kinds of Grand Slam matches. I’m very proud of myself because it was not easy to deal with all this criticism. »

The veil of past pains is never far away. In 2019, on Instagram, the Australian had recounted the depression and the suicidal desires endured: “ I was self-harming my right arm. I was literally struggling to get out of bed let alone performing in front of millions of people. I felt lonely, depressed, had dark thoughts, abused alcohol and drugs, rejected my family and friends. I felt like I couldn’t talk about it or I couldn’t trust anyone. ” After these trials, victory diffuses the flavor of sharing, of accomplishment: “ I’m almost relieved that it’s over, because there’s so much pressure every time I step onto the court, so many expectations. I’m just super proud of my performance, because there really was a time when I didn’t think I was able to do this again. When I was really struggling mentally, I felt so depressed all the time, I felt sorry for myself. I was very selfish. Then I realized how much I was letting my loved ones down and I wanted it to stop. I raised my head, decided to get back in shape first. Then we’ll see how it goes. Obviously, winning helps. The motivation is there. It’s easier to train, to wake up when things are going well. To tackle the relentless demands imposed by the high level.

Here he is in the quarter-finals. Against the Russian Karen Khachanov (whom he had beaten after a breathtaking 10-8 match in the tie-break of the 5th set in the 3rd round of the Australian Open 2020). Nothing now seems impossible for this phenomenon. “ I think I have reduced some of my weaknesses. I really analyzed what I needed to improve at the start of the year, and worked on it really hard. Even if I am not this player who was once 13th in the world (in 2016), I think I have become again. And I even think I’m better than that. I have matured so much. When I play badly, I accept it, when I play well, I embrace the moment. But I remain the same. “A rare player. Precious. Magical. Brittle. Touching. Endearing. Horrifying. Essential. New York and the tennis world are asking for more.