Nick Kyrgios: The New Generation of Tennis

It all started with the publication of an extract from an interview given by Nick Kyrgios to the American sports site The Athletic, on December 11. In the middle of unbridled exchanges with the journalist he met over coffee in Venice Beach, California, the irreverent Australian unceremoniously dismisses the older generation. “The game was so slow at the time,” assures the man who only played one match in 2023 (in Stuttgart in June) due to injuries to his knee, then his right wrist. I looked at Boris Becker and I’m not saying they weren’t good in their time, but to say they would be as good today is absurd. »

“At the time, a big service was around 200 km/h,” he explains. Guys like me serve at 220 regularly, in the corners. It’s a whole different game. I’m not saying they wouldn’t have found their way. But to serve and volley today, you have to serve at 220, otherwise Djokovic eats you alive. Lleyton Hewitt destroyed Pete Sampras one year at the US Open (in the final in 2001, victory 7-6, 6-1, 6-1). He made her look like shit. He was the first prototype player who could return his serve. And what would Djokovic do against Sampras? He would clean it up, destroy it. »

“Why is he talking about a sport he apparently hates?” He has never won a Grand Slam as a player, nor a coach, so where does his credibility come from? »

Boris Becker on Nick Kyrgios

It was no less necessary to sting a Becker aged 56 (double his young provocateur) but very present on social networks, unlike Pete Sampras, with subscribers absent on the web and more preoccupied these days by the health concerns of his wife, who is suffering from cancer. Two days later, taking Kyrgios’ usual provocations literally, Holger’s current coach Rune fired back on X (formerly Twitter): “Nick has been making a lot of noise around tennis lately! Why is he talking about a sport he apparently hates? He has never won a Grand Slam as a player, nor a coach, so where does his credibility come from? Trying to compare generations… Washing against Federer…”

The German tennis legend, with 6 Grand Slam titles, could have been satisfied with this projection shared with his 640,000 subscribers but, questioned by Eurosport in his capacity as a consultant for the channel, he gave it a second thought on Monday. “We live in a democracy. Everyone can think what they want. We must have respect for the past and simply say “thank you” out loud to the former pros without whom the tennis circus would no longer exist. Let’s start with Australia. Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe, Tony Roche – the gladiators of Australian tennis. Then we have to mention Patrick Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt. They have all been number one, they have won Grand Slam tournaments. »

“I go further into the generational question and I say: in the 70s, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Björn Borg, then Ivan Lendl popularized the sport, they attracted viewers and it is thanks to these legends that there has never been as much money and publicity as there is today in tennis, he explains. I played a bit in the 80s, with (Stefan) Edberg, (Mats) Wilander. In the 90s, there was (Andre) Agassi, Sampras. All of these players allowed Nick Kyrgios to not play at all this year and make a living from tennis. »

“Yeah, keep up your bullshit, you’re no longer relevant, you idiots”

Nick Kyrgios to the attention of tweeters who disagree with him

In this war of egos which resembles a biscottos competition in the playground, Kyrgios could not remain without a response. And the former 13th in the world, still convalescing and withdrawing from the next Australian Open, puffed out his chest in turn: “Uhhh what? I have been one of the most watched players outside of the Big 3 (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic) over the last decade. I have fans all over the world and I have brought so many people to the sport. I’m one of the few who brought in millions more and made everyone NETFLIX money…. I don’t remember seeing Boris in this, it’s ridiculous . I made my career off the court without help from others. »

By attacking without much thought the big names of the game, with records incomparable to his own, the Wimbledon finalist in 2022 has attracted the wrath of many tweeters nostalgic for a vintage era. Prisoner of the undertow, he threw in the towel a few hours later – “Yeah, keep talking your bullshit, you’re no longer relevant, you idiots” – before Becker brought a pacifist conclusion to the debate: ” I wish Nick a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him on court again! He’s an exciting player when he’s fit! He has a Grand Slam in the bag but it’s on the court that we need to talk…. good luck! »

Kyrgios and Rune have never faced each other before. The pre-match of their first confrontation will certainly not lack spice.

2023-12-19 10:14:49
#Nick #Kyrgios #Boris #Becker #clash #backdrop #generational #conflict