18 January 2024 , 09:00
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John McEnroe described Nick Kyrgios as the most talented player of the last decade in the Netflix documentary series 'Break Point' - but his commitment to tennis has remained a subject of debate as he misses this year's Australian Open due to injury.
Kyrgios, 28, only has one Grand Slam win, the 2022 Australian Open doubles title, during his decade-long career, but remains regarded as a supremely talented player on the ATP Tour. Months after winning his first Grand Slam, he reached his first singles final at Wimbledon after Rafael Nadal withdrew from the semifinals through injury.
Despite winning the first set against the three-time reigning champion Novak Djokovic, the Serbian secured a seventh Wimbledon title in a three-hour-long match. Kyrgios made the quarter-finals at the next Grand Slam, the US Open, before losing to Russia's Karen Khachanov in five sets.
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However, he has only made the finals in two other majors, at Wimbledon in 2014 and then at the Australian Open a year later, losing to the eventual champion, Andy Murray, at the latter. But after only making it through to the finals four times, Kyrgios remains a divisive figure.
On one hand, there is McEnroe, who says: "I think he's the most talented player I've seen in 10 years." On the other, Andy Roddick is saying: "He's like a part-time tennis player. He doesn't play that often - he takes months off at a time. It's like a hobby."
Kyrgios has been absent from the last five Grand Slams, missing all of last year's four. He has also not played at the French Open since 2017.
Kyrgios has gone over a year without playing a major (Getty Images)But world No. 14 Matteo Berrettini does not hold that against him. "He is probably the most talented player from our generation," the Italian says during episode one of 'Break Point'.
That opinion is not unanimous across the tour, though. "He's not a bad guy, but he just becomes a devil when he enters the court," Stefanos Tsitsipas, whom Kyrgios beat en route to the 2022 Wimbledon final.
During that run, the Australian's compatriot Jason Kubler shared a similar sentiment. “Every time I see him, he’s smiling. Every time I’m around him, it seems like I’m laughing,” he said. “So it’s kind of weird when I read or see the comments about him, knowing him the way I do.
"He's just one of those people if you were to hang around him or spend any sort of quality time with him, you’d fall in love with him.”
After that year's final, Djokovic, whom Kyrgios previously criticized publicly during the COVID-19 pandemic, said of him: "I really respect you a lot. I think you are a phenomenal tennis player and athlete, an amazing talent."
The world No. 1 also declared their relationship "officially a bromance" after Kyrgios described Djokovic as "a bit of a God". At this year's Australian Open, the injured Kyrgios is working as a commentator for broadcasters Eurosport and ESPN and made his commentary debut on Djokovic's first-round match against Dino Prizmic.