"He's a very smart young man and most talented player in the last 10 years" - McEnroe on Kyrgios' Wimbledon success
ATP
John McEnroe praised Nick Kyrgios after the Australian player reached his maiden Grand Slam singles final at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.
The 27-year-old Australian has been showing his positive side during the 2022 season. He has managed to win a doubles Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and is now only one match away from his first singles Grand Slam title at Wimbledon.
After Rafael Nadal's withdrawal, Kyrgios moved right into the final. John McEnroe believes that this is the biggest chance Kyrgios has ever had in his career to prove his qualities and show his real talent.
"With all due respect to Garin, this was an incredible draw for [Nick] Kyrgios. He’s never been in a Grand Slam semi-final and he’s not playing Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic here. This is Christian Garin, who wasn’t playing with much confidence coming into this tournament."
According to McEnroe, Kyrgios is "the most talented player in the last ten years." Considering the Australian player hasn't won a single singles Grand Slam title, that is certainly an ambitious claim, but Kyrgios proved many times that when he wants, he can turn into a magician on the tennis court.
"He’s a very smart young man. He’s liked in the dressing room. He is the most talented player, I believe, in the last ten years in the men’s game. He just hasn’t been able to put it together mentally for a variety of reasons."
"He’s not been able to do that consistently. He’s out having a beer, he doesn’t want to train and that will affect your results in tournaments."
McEnroe also revealed that there have been calls for Kyrgios to start being serious about his career. Everyone knew he had the talent. He just lacked results because of his lack of interest.
"We have been begging him to get it right because this guy moves the needle big time. He’s so good for the game. He’s got five or six different ways to blow off steam. I know about that as I’ve been through it myself. The bottom line is, that when he competes he is an incredible talent."
