Former world No.1 Andre Agassi has hailed Australia’s Nick Kyrgios as one of the ‘best talents’ in men’s tennis.
The eight-time grand slam champion spoke about Kyrgios ahead of his return to the tour. The world No.24 hasn’t played a competitive match in singles since March due to an elbow injury. He made a brief comeback to win the doubles title in Lyon last month with Jack Sock, but later withdrew from the French Open following medical advice.
“I think he’s (Kyrgios) one of the best talents to step on a tennis court,” Agassi recently told reporters at a Longines Future Tennis Aces event.
“I think what he does with it (talent) is a function of investing in his body and getting that right … and then hopefully find someone who can give him some great guidance on how to fulfill that talent, somebody to work with, you know, is also important.”
Kyrgios is set to return to action this week at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, Germany. The 23-year-old has four ATP titles to his name, including one from this year’s Brisbane International. He is also a two-time grand slam quarter-finalist and has been ranked as high as 13th in the world.
Many have previously tipped the talented Australian to be a future star of the sport. In recent months he has been sidelined from the tour due to injury problems. Besides his elbow, he was also forced to end his 2017 season early due to a hip problem. Commenting on the woes, Agassi believes that the problem needs to be addressed in order for Kyrgios to reach his full potential.
“I think you have to start with health, right?” He said.
“I don’t know the status of his body. He’s a big guy, big game and if something hurts, it can hurt pretty good.
“I don’t know what’s going on with his elbow, but if he’s healthy I give him a chance on every surface.”
Numerous names have been mentioned as a possible coach for Kyrgios, but Agassi is reluctant to join the list. He recently spent a brief stint mentoring Novak Djokovic before they ended their collaboration in April. That was Agassi’s first experience of training a high-profile player on the tour.
“I don’t know if I could help get him there, I’m just simply saying there’s so much he could do on a tennis court and it would be a shame if we don’t see it.” He concluded.
Kyrgios is seeded fourth in this week’s Mercedes Cup. Granted a first round bye, he will start his campaign against either Maximilian Marterer or Viktor Galovic.
