Kyrgios Crucial For Australian And World Tennis Says Aussie Tennis Great

Thursday, 26 October 2023 at 07:00

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byNurein Ahmed

Willy Masur, a former ATP World No. 15, reckons it would be "good to have Nick Kyrgios back" in light of the Big Four of men's tennis fading from the limelight.

With tennis icon Roger Federer now retired, Rafael Nadal uncertain to play beyond 2024, and Andy Murray entering the final phase of his career with a surgically repaired hip, it only leaves the indefatigable Novak Djokovic as the surviving member of the quartet still on top of his game.

Masur believes Kyrgios is capable of filling that void, but more importantly, he'll have plenty of opportunities to compete and win the biggest titles. The Australian tennis great went as far as making the bold claim that his countryman is crucial not just for Australian tennis, but world tennis.

The 60-year-old, who works as a coach and pundit, was surprised that none of the previous generation of up-and-coming players like Stefanos Tsitsipas and Taylor Fritz broke the Big Four's barrier.

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But the emergence of Carlos Alcaraz in the past 18 months gives him hope that Kyrios can emulate such a breakthrough run when he returns from injury.

"Roger has retired, Rafa is a little busted and Andy is playing with one hip, so the big four have been pretty much dismantled, although Novak is obviously still there, so there are opportunities."

"I thought it might have been the next group of Taylor Fritz and Stefanos Tsitsipas, but Carlos Alcaraz has been the one who has busted through and emerged. Can Nick come back and play a part in all this? Absolutely, because anyone who serves like that is always competitive. He might even have the best serve in the game right now."

"Can he do it? Yes, but it probably comes down to motivation and making sure his body doesn’t let him down. He’s pretty crucial for Australian and world tennis, so it would be good to have him back."

The mercurial Kyrgios has been convalescing from a spate of injuries in 2023. Last year Kyrgios had the best season of his professional career. He reached his first Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon, losing to Djokovic in four close sets. A few weeks later, he would win the ATP 500 in Washington.

Against a backdrop of such great results, he was also a Grand Slam champion in doubles, when he memorably won the Australian Open together with Thanasi Kokkinakis. But he hasn't been able to replicate that form in 2023, with injuries limiting him to just a single appearance, and is currently working on coming back to the tour in 2024.