Australian legend John Newcombe feels injuries and not temperament is Nick Kyrgios' main obstacle
What's the story?
7-time Grand Slam champion, John Newcombe, has cast doubts over the idea that Nick Kyrgios's temperament is the main thing holding him back from winning some of tennis's biggest prizes.
Instead, the former World No.1 suggested that his compatriot's troubles with injuries are the main thing stopping the 24-year-old Kyrgios from fulfiling his potential.
In case you didn't know
Nick Kyrgios has the rare achievement of having beaten Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic in his first encounters against the three of them, with the other two being fellow Australian, Lleyton Hewitt, and former professional tennis player, Dominik Hrbaty.
The heart of the matter
These are interesting comments by former tennis star, John Newcombe. Since bursting onto the tennis scene, few have suggested that Nick Kyrgios' physicality is the main thing hindering his career.
John Newcombe has been reported as suggesting otherwise. He said,
“It’s a bit of a worry that he has recurring injuries, especially around where the muscles join the joints and that’s going to be an ongoing problem for him it seems”
The 3-time Wimbledon champion also commented that,
"At the Davis Cup he’d (Nick Kyrgios) only played four sets of singles and his shoulder started to play up again and when you’ve got an injury like that it’s hard to go out and practice a lot."
It is a worrying assessment to make if Kyrgios' injury issues are as severe as John Newcombe suggests. Having a poor temperament is something that certain sportsman possess but can overcome if they address the issue.
Roger Federer, of all people, is well documented as having had a fiery temper when he was a young player but by the time he reached his first Grand Slam final in 2003 he had rectified this problem and has since been arguably the coolest man on the ATP tour.
Injuries, however, are a different matter. Regardless of how talented someone may be at a sport, if one's body is not durable enough to take the gruelling strain of professional sports, there isn't much one can do about that.
Nick Kyrgios is an incredibly gifted player, with some suggesting that he is the most talented of the NextGen. Nevertheless, he is not sharing the success of some of his contemporaries. Whether this is due to his temperament or his body, only he knows, for the good of the sport, however, let's hope that the still-young Australian can find a way to overcome his poor showing in 2019.