Nick Kyrgios has opened up on the support given to him by former World No. 1 Andy Murray during his turbulent period battling his mental health.
The flamboyant Australian had been touted as the next big thing in men's tennis when he burst onto the scene at Wimbledon almost a decade ago when he upset 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal and reached the quarterfinal.
But his career was full of more lows than highs and in 2019, he hit rock bottom. Following a four-set defeat to Nadal in a Wimbledon rematch, Kyrgios struggled to cope with his mental health and contemplated suicide.
Kyrgios had been playing with a long sleeve on his right arm to conceal evidence of self-harm and was prescribed anti-depressants when he was admitted to a psychiatric ward in London. Luckily for Kyrgios, he found a fellow tennis player who noticed the anomalies in his mood and behavior.
That player was Andy Murray who gets along very well with Kyrgios on tour. The Briton was quick to notice that Kyrgios had been inflicting pain on his body during one practice session he shared with him.
In an exclusive interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Talk TV, the Aussie revealed he did not "listen" but was thankful that Murray cared for his life.
"Andy was always a big supporter of me. As soon as I came on the tour, he kind of saw a work in progress and took me under his wing. Then he realized later in my career that I don't think I was coachable or I was on my own path, but he was always someone that was looking out for me."
"He saw it [the self-harm] and he said, 'What's that on your arm?' It was pretty bad at that stage. Andy obviously was trying to give me advice on it. But I was just so stuck in my ways at that time that I didn't listen. Obviously I'm very thankful. I thank him a lot."
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