Can Nick Kyrgios fulfill his potential in 2020?
Nick Kyrgios is the maverick of tennis, to put it mildly. Unperturbed by the squeaky clean PC culture of this day and age, he does what he wants, how he wants, when he wants.
For a sport like tennis that has been criticized in recent years as being "too nice," Kyrgios is perhaps a much-needed, refreshing change.
Undoubtedly gifted, Kyrgios is regarded by many, and for good reasons, as the most talented of the NextGen players. But to be fair he doesn't qualify as a 'NextGen' player anymore; he is 24 already, but seems younger because of the lack of significant achievements in his career.
So where is it going wrong for the Australian? It has been clear in 2019 that his failings are a mental thing as opposed to a question of talent.
There were times this year where he showed how good he is, like the win against Rafael Nadal at Acapulco. However, Kyrgios grabbed more headlines for his tirades against umpires, his antagonism against certain crowd members, his refusal to play, or simply his tendency to give up mid-match.
He remains the biggest question mark in tennis. For a player many once believed was a guaranteed future Grand Slam winner, the sense of "will" is slowly turning to "could". And if Kyrgios is not careful, it will eventually turn to "should have".
It would be a tragedy if Kyrgios never fulfilled his true potential. He can bring spectators to the stands with his on-court wizardry and keep the publishing houses busy with his off-court quotes, but if he continues to underperform at the Slams all that will be lost.
We can all agree that 2019 was a bit of a write-off for the Australian. But 2020 does not have to be the same.
The Australian has the physicality, he has the big-point toughness, and he has the talent. But like 2019, his success in 2020 will be determined by his mentality and willingness to show up week-in and week-out.
A big issue for Kyrgios is that he relishes playing the big matches but gets bored by the early round contests against opponents he considers inferior. That is evident from the fact that he has a 2-0 record against Novak Djokovic, but struggles against the John Millmans and Steve Johnsons.
Whilst this level confidence could be a good thing, it is not a viable mantra for success in tennis. If Kyrgios wants to play against the best players in semifinals and finals, he needs to win the "easier" matches like everyone else does.
He may not be reveling in the success that some of his NextGen contemporaries are, but he is just as good, if not better than them. And yet that will never be realized unless he focuses on the basics and lets his tennis do the talking.
The NextGen revolution is starting to look inevitable now, and Kyrgios would do well to be a guiding light for the talented players slightly younger than him. If the Big 3 are to be defeated, the younger players would need to come out in full force - and that includes Kyrgios.
Can he start fulfilling his true potential in 2020? Of course he can. But will he start fulfilling his true potential in 2020? Well, that is up to Nick Kyrgios.