John Morris is one of the people that discovered and worked with young Nick Kyrgios and now, he opened up to The Age about working with the Australian.
Nick Kyrgios played his first Grand Slam final at the 2022 Wimbledon and if he was one of the most-discussed players before the tournament, he certainly became even more popular after the tournament. While the 27-years-old Australian gained many fans and supporters, there are also some people that dislike some of his traits. Yet, his former agent, John Morris revealed what Kyrgios is really like.
"He needs guiding and I believe we guided him really well. But it always had to be him. Yes, you had to drag him in a little bit and put him back on path, but he’s so special and so unique in who he is and what he brings to the game," said Morris.
“My favourite athlete of all time, without question, is Andre Agassi. We always used to say Nick is Agassi 2.0. And yes, there were things that were unsavoury which I didn’t like but there’s a magnetism to him and a certain charisma about him. There is this magic dust that you just don’t want to touch. Just leave it be. Just let it be because it’s bloody special.”
Morris also spoke about his image of "bad boy" and revealed how he sees Kyrgios. He is one of a very few people that knew the 2022 Australian Open doubles champion before he became so popular and knows him really well.
“He became a caricature of this bad boy image and he played up to it a little bit. It wasn’t really him. And then you go down a path and, eventually, he just assumes the role. Even this week, he is fine playing the role of the villain. It is literally that - it’s a role. In many ways it is a stage persona, but it’s a protection tool."
“If he’s being short, with his walls up, in his mind he can’t get hurt. He’s thinking, ‘If I don’t let conversations go on or if I don’t let you in, then I can’t get hurt’. I get it. But it’s a protection tool. The Nick Kyrgios I knew was a really sweet, genuine, sensitive person,” Morris said.
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