'No One Wants To Play Him': Kyrgios Backed For Wimbledon Success By McEnroe

Thursday, 29 June 2023 at 10:00

Updated at Thursday, 29 June 2023 at 10:02

kyrgios nick wimbledon2022 martinsidorjak10

byEvita Mueller

Nick Kyrgios made his way to the Wimbledon final last year and nobody will want to play him this year according to John McEnroe.

The prowess of Kyrgios on grass is rather well known. He showed it very early in his career and never lost it since then. A very focused campaign last year saw him go farther than he ever went but unfortunately, he couldn't get past Novak Djokovic.

This year has been very different. He didn't play much due to a knee injury sustained earlier this year with the Stuttgart Open being his first event. He lost there in the first round, then withdrew from the Halle Open and then withdrew from the Mallorca Championships. He'll begin Wimbledon with only one match played on grass -obviously less than ideal.

These late withdrawals likely have to do with his knee, which apparently is still troubling him. Fans are worried but everybody is still holding hope that he will manage to play and play well. Speaking to iNews, McEnroe talked about Kyrgios and his chances.

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I remember seeing him last year in terms of his training. He looked fitter. He was moving better. Hw was more committed. And look what it resulted in. He was able to get to a Wimbledon final.

— McEnroe on 2022 Kyrgios<br>

The Australian still has plenty of confidence and considers himself the most likely to beat Djokovic at Wimbledon and he's not the only one. Carlos Alcaraz agrees that it's likely Kyrgios and McEnroe doesn't think anybody wants to play him either.

To me, he would be a major threat on grass if he is on. No one wants to play him, that I can assure you of. Obviously, if he’s back and fit and mentally sort of focused, he’s going to give it his all, then yes he can be a threat.