"I would pray to not play Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon" - says Alex Corretja

Wednesday, 22 June 2022 at 12:30

Updated at Friday, 13 December 2024 at 21:14

byZachary Wimer

Former ATP World No. 1 and current tennis analyst Alex Corretja feels like playing Nick Kyrgios early at Wimbledon is the worst that could happen to any seed.

Kyrgios skipped the entire clay season, spending time in native Australia, and it was certainly a great decision for him. It translated to a fairly high level on the grass, with the Australian player reaching back-to-back semifinals in Stuttgart and Halle.

He's playing Mallorca this week, and he opened with another win, clearly indicating his high comfort on grass. It's nothing new for the Australian, and Kyrgios has always maintained that winning Wimbledon was his dream.

He went further this year, saying it's a clear goal for him. Corretja believes in his ambition, and he thinks everybody is praying to avoid him early.

"If I would be in the Wimbledon draw and I would be seeded, I would pray not to play Kyrgios in the first rounds. It's so difficult to play against him, his serve is probably one of the best on tour right now. He knows that he loves to play on grass, he likes to have fun, he likes to get the crowd involved. I think he's playing with less pressure."

— Corretja on Kyrgios at Wimbledon<br>

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Corretja also believes that Kyrgios is not putting too much pressure on himself in terms of winning the event, but rather, he's playing tennis and letting things unfold as they are. It's a healthy approach that could see him go deep and Corretja actually could see him going really deep.

"I feel like he's just playing to see what will happen, and he loves the conditions, he loves the surface. So I think if he's got a place in the draw where the seeds are ones that he can dictate and that he's the one dealing and dominating, he can be dangerous."

— <br>

"He can put pressure with the return as well, with the forehand, with the backhand flat. Well, I think Kyrgios is someone that you don't want to really see next to you in the draw."