"Tennis is a sport of repetition, rather than the spectacular" - Toni Nadal on what holds Kyrgios back

Wednesday, 13 July 2022 at 04:30

Updated at Thursday, 14 July 2022 at 12:53

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byAlfredo Bassanelli

Nick Kyrgios played the 2022 Wimbledon final but Toni Nadal, former coach of 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, thinks that the Australian could be even more successful in his career.

Many times, the 27-years-old Australian and 2022 Wimbledon finalist, Nick Kyrgios chooses quite untraditional ways of how to play a rally. He likes to use an underarm serve or fire the ball without any preparation. And that is exactly what holds him back according to Toni Nadal. He described that in a recent post that he wrote for El Pais.

"In the decisive moments, he was unable to control his anxiety that, again, degenerated into constant rebukes to his team as if they were to blame for the undesired paths the scoreboard was taking for him."

— Toni Nadal

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"He has a bad habit of hitting too many balls in any way, basically without paying attention and in a bad position. In today’s tennis, due to the speed at which the ball goes, there is no choice but to look for a good position to have good control."

— Toni Nadal

"The great players measure their steps well, seek a good position, and from there, try to hit a good shot and increase the chances of victory. Nick Kyrgios, with his messy way of understanding the game, is handicapped not so much by what he does with the ball, but by the way he wants to do it. It is very difficult for him to achieve the continuity that requires scoring points. Tennis is a sport of repetition, rather than the spectacular."

— Toni Nadal