Meet Team Kyrgios, the ones who dragged him back from the brink

Kyrgios didn’t think the day would come where he would reach the semifinals of Wimbledon. After beating Chile’s Cristian Garin 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, the Australian tennis star declared, “I think my ship has sailed”.

“To be honest, I didn’t do great things early in my career and I think I might have squandered that little window,” he said, later adding, “there was a point where I was almost done with the sport.”

Kyrgios celebrates a match point in his win over Cristian Garin.Credit:Getty Images

His journey to the biggest game of his career was not a smooth one, but rather a roller-coaster ride that has included fines for inappropriate behavior on the court, including swearing and breaking rackets and public feuds with some of the sport’s big names.

One night in 2019 even saw him being forced out of a pub at 4am before taking on Rafael Nadal at the All England club the following day. No doubt, Nadal won the match.

All of that now pales in comparison to the recent accusations by his ex-girlfriend Chiara Passari. The 27-year-old has been summoned to appear in court in Australia next month on charges of ordinary assault.

Load

Australia began to get to know Kyrgios in 2014, when at the age of 19, as a ranked 144 wildcard, he made a big shock at Wimbledon and beat then world number 1 Nadal in the fourth round.

This experience, however, brings increased stress and attention, which “doesn’t know how to deal with”.

“It was tough because then I started dealing with all this negativity… I was really struggling and I was obviously told, ‘You’re the next big thing in tennis, you’re the next big thing in tennis’. And these big shoes to fill, and I keep trying, trying and trying, it ends up snowballing in these dark clouds,” Kyrgios told the podcast.

Kyrgios’ public perception has long been the subject of debate; loved by fans and hated by critics. But while most of what the public sees about Kyrgios is when he’s on the court or in press conferences, the tennis star, among other things, says he’s a different person off the court.

When Kyrgios continued Australian Ninja Warrior in 2021, host Ben Fordham, who previously called the tennis star the country’s “biggest tool” on his radio program, said it was a completely different person he knew on set.

“He’s not a celebrity who smiles and cracks jokes to impress people,” Fordham said. “Some people put on a show in front of the camera, but they are different on the other side. She does not. He is genuine. Everyone loves Nick.”

Kyrgios said when people saw him on the street they thought he was “absolutely crazy”.

“[But] I am two completely different people on and off the pitch. Like, on the pitch I’m just literally, I can’t explain it, I’m just mental. Totally competitive, like being obsessed with just putting on a show and winning. But then off the pitch, I’m very relaxed.

Load

“I’ve been playing the same way since I was 10 years old,” said the 27-year-old. “People think that I’m trying to act like that out there, but anyone who knows me, my close friends, and anyone who sees me play… [knows] nothing has really changed.”

In an interview with Sportklub, former world number one Novak Djokovic said that whether people like Kyrgios or not, he brings a lot of attention to tennis.

“I see that it’s good that he attracts a group of young people who follow him, love and like him because he’s different and plays like that – and I don’t think that’s bad for our sport,” said Djokovic. “Maybe in some situations his comments on and off the pitch are debatable, but that’s an authentic Kyrgios – and I respect that.”

News, results and expert analysis from the sports weekend sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sports newsletter.

Watch all the action from Wimbledon ad-free, live & on-demand at Stan Sport, streaming Center Court matches in 4K UHD. Coverage of select matches begins at 9GEM starting at 9:30pm AEST every night.

#Meet #Team #Kyrgios #dragged #brink