Calmness key to Kyrgios delivering on promise

Published by René Denfeld

Impressive calmness the key to Nick Kyrgios' success. Photo: Getty Images

Impressive calm and focus paved the way to a breakthrough week for Nick Kyrgios in Marseille, culminating in his first ever ATP World Tour title at last week’s Open 13 Provence. The Australian has always possessed incredible talent – is he now poised to fulfil it? By RENÉ DENFELD

“I always could serve, I always could play tennis, I just needed to concentrate a bit more.”

It sounds like such a simple statement, yet Nick Kyrgios’ assessment of his own performance at the Open 13 Provence rings completely true. During a dominant week in Marseille the 20-year-old romped through the draw to secure the first ATP title of his career – never once dropping his serve.

A little over a week ago Kyrgios had been forced to withdraw from the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam with an elbow issue, making the tournament in southern France his first since his loss at the hands of Tomas Berdych in Melbourne. Said match had once again raised questions about the Canberran’s wavering focus after he spent the majority of the four-set encounter monologuing and bickering with chair umpire James Keothavong.

Four weeks later, Kyrgios showed very little of those lapses during his 10 clinical sets in Marseille and performed at a tremendous level, especially from the quarterfinals onwards. The raw power off the ground that we’ve always seen glimpses of during the past 18 months – it felt like it was streamlined with greater consistency. The big serve Kyrgios had always possessed – it was firing on all cylinders. When Kyrgios had the chances to rip either groundstroke – he did. When there was a need to rally longer to get into a better position – he was willing to be patient.

It was one of those weeks when the youngster delivered on all the advance praise he has received in recent years and showed what he is capable of when he zeroes in on everything inside the court rather than getting rattled by nullities outside the tramlines.

Kyrgios, Australia’s No. 2 behind Bernard Tomic, had been playing very solid tennis in his first two matches against big serving Canadian Vasek Pospisil and doubles partner Teymuraz Gabashvili. But it was his 6-0 6-4 drubbing of world No.10 Richard Gasquet that really started to make noise, particularly the way he served out the match and dismantled the slightly flat Frenchman – someone he had already faced at several important junctures of his career, including the past two Wimbledons and at last year’s Montreal Masters – in the first set.

Much like Gasquet, Kyrgios’ Melbourne-conquerer Tomas Berdych also didn’t create a single break point during their encounter and the world No.6 found himself under scoreboard pressure for most of the match due to the Australian’s rapid-fire holds. “Some days you just don’t get it right as you want but that’s it but that’s got nothing to do with his performance – he played really good,” the Czech said after their match. Gasquet even went a step further: “Nick has developed to a stratospheric level.”

When the 20-year-old hit his 72nd ace of the week to down Marin Cilic in the final, the reaction of the first time titlist was fairly subdued. “It was a good feeling, y’know – but it was just another tennis match,” he said. Kyrgios post-final media conference was almost a little indifferent, in line with several other soundbites he had dropped during the week – some more subtle than others.

Despite his scintillating play throughout the week, with each press conference and conversation it became increasingly apparent that life on tour and obligations surrounding the yellow ball are necessary evils for Kyrgios. Friends on tour? Not a lot these days, he revealed. The locker room? Not exactly his favourite place. Tennis? He kind of detests it. Playing a full calendar? A lighter schedule is preferred. Goals for 2016? Be home as much as possible. Getting a coach? Unlikely – outsiders aren’t exactly welcome in the Australian’s squad.

It puts Kyrgios in a bind, a possible champion who isn’t keen on many of the parts that come with life as a professional tennis player – not unlike a certain André Agassi during periods of his career. It’s hardly a surprise that the world No.33’s favourite place in the world remains his own four walls with his family and friends, perhaps the only place where he doesn’t feel under constant scrutiny. As a result, Kyrgios is unlikely to become the most fervent spokesperson of the ATP and tour life, particularly since he prides himself on being different on a circuit where a certain gentlemen’s vibe predominates.

In the future, there will still be weeks when Kyrgios zones in and out of sets or matches. There will be days when he sits in press conferences completely unengaged. There will be moments when his concentration goes on a rollercoaster ride. The Australian will continue to feature in situations when he confuses and riles people, opponents and maybe even himself with his monologues, discussions or mutterings.

Cilic has this to say of Kyrgios when he previewed their final encounter in Marseille: “As long as he’s keeping [his personality] under control it’s helping him – otherwise it can be very fragile.”

Last week, he was in full control, with neither his serve nor his nerve being broken. It showed just what the Australian is capable of when maintains a sense of calm on court. Kyrgios has got what it takes to be a force in the sport and his performances in Marseille were testament to that. Now it’s just a question of doing it on a more consistent basis without falling back into old habits too often.

Life on tour and tennis might not be the 2016 Hopman Cup winner’s favourite job of all time but last week he excelled at it, upsetting several quality opponents without having a let up.

For that he deserves to be applauded, even if it is, as Kyrgios himself said, “just another tennis match.”

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