Former world No.1 Andy Roddick has become the latest person to call for Nick Kyrgios to apply himself to the sport more.
Roddick, who retired from tennis in 2012, spoke about the Australian at a press conference in Atlanta on Monday. Kyrgios is renowned for his at times controversial behaviour on the court and outspoken comments. At the Italian Open he was defaulted from his second round match after throwing a chair onto the court. Then at the Fever-Tree Championships in Queen’s he was fined $17,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct. It was at that tournament where he threw a racket out of the court and narrowly missed hitting somebody.
“Every time I have a microphone in front of me, I’m asked about Nick Kyrgios. So there certainly is interest that he is able to create.” Said Roddick.
“I think he is great for the sport. I think like every other tennis fan, I want more out of him.”
Besides the controversies, Kyrgios has previously been billed as a future star of the sport. The 24-year-old has won five ATP titles with the most recent occurring at the Acapulco Open in February. Some of his high-profile wins include beating Novak Djokovic three times, Rafael Nadal twice and Roger Federer once.
It is that talent of Kyrgios that Roddick doesn’t want to see wasted. The 2003 US Open champion said he would have loved to have the same skill set as the world No.48 when he was a young player.
“For myself, I was finding a generational divide between myself and the guys I was trying to beat and I was trying to maximise.” He reflected.
“This could be completely selfish, but to see somebody like Nick, who I would go back and play my career in a second with what he is able to do with a tennis racket.’
“I want more out of him because I care about the sport and because I certainly respect talent.”
36-year-old Roddick was in Atlanta participating in an exhibition match that took place at the city’s ATP 250 event. Taking on Robby Ginepri he lost 1-6, 6-2, 10-7, in a light-hearted encounter.
“We shared a lot of significant moments,” Roddick said ahead of the match. “We were trying to do things at the same time. We were getting to our first pro tournaments together, playing our first slams at the same time.”
During his career, Roddick won 32 ATP trophies and finished in the year-end top 10 for nine consecutive seasons between 2002-2010.
