Nick Kyrgios Genuinely Has A Chance Of Winning The US Open
(Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
— Updated on 6 September 2022

Nick Kyrgios Genuinely Has A Chance Of Winning The US Open

— Updated on 6 September 2022
Billy Booker
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Billy Booker

Here’s a thought: Australia has never had a sportsman quite like Nick Kyrgios. And he should be cherished like a modern-day sporting savior by those of us who lament the vanilla-ness of media-trained athletes.

Over the past year, he’s found his sweet spot. Granted, it comes relatively late for the tennis player, aged 27, but this rich vein of form genuinely has Nick Kyrgios in contention to win the upcoming US Open – form which has seen him backed from $26 to $9 (now $3.30) with bookies in recent weeks. 

Just last month, he became the first player to ever win the singles and doubles titles at the Washington Open. Having cinched just one doubles gong prior to 2022, the man has now claimed three in the last eight months alone. From his last 24 singles matches, there have been 21 wins – he’s playing the best tennis of his life. It’s Kyrgios’ world and we’re just livin’ in it.

RELATED: Nick Kyrgios Is Good For Tennis

Kyrgios, who has leapfrogged nine spots in the rankings to #28, is good for tennis in the same way Shane Warne was good for cricket, Toby Greene for AFL, and the Tuchel v Conte argy bargy for football. Because the truth is, professional sport is about eyeballs. It’s about the audience it attracts and the energy the crowd feels inside a stadium. I don’t really care how talented you are. If you’re a cardboard cutout with no personality or pizzazz — snooze.

Make no mistake. Nick Kyrgios isn’t your traditional “role model.” But he’s entertaining as f*ck. He plays ridiculous shots – including the odd under-arm serve – and wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s authentic, brash, competitive, and right now, in the form of his life, which only adds to his appeal. Defeating world #1 Daniil Medvedev in Montreal late last week just confirmed he belongs among the sport’s elite.

RELATED: Nick Kyrgios Will Star In Netflix’s ‘Drive To Survive’-Style Tennis Docuseries

The fact is, Nick Kyrgios is overly criticised for letting his emotions boil over. This is a high-stakes business. The do-gooders sitting behind a TV screen casting judgments via their Twitter account need to realise everyone deals with the pressure differently.

You’re not going to like everything he does. He doesn’t have to be on your Christmas card list. But Kyrgios, in all his anger and glory, is a bums-on-seats professional sportsperson. We need more of his kind. And a major victory early next month in New York would be fucking awesome.

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