"Tennis has really only marketed three players over the last decade and now it has caught up with them" - Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios bemoaned the lack of players with unique personalities in tennis, putting the blame on executives in-charge for continuously marketing only three players -- presumably the Big-3 -- over the years.
Kyrgios was of the opinion that as long as tennis does not extend the same courtesy to other players, the sport was at risk of dying out from a lack of variety.
Kyrgios and compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis progressed to the quarterfinals of the 2022 Australian Open men's doubles after their 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory in the third round. Coming in as wildcards, the Aussie-duo have beaten two seeded pairs on the trot to reach the final eight.
The Special K's show rolls on 👊
Aussie pair ＠NickKyrgios and ＠TKokkinakis defeat Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar 6-4 4-6 6-4 to advance to the #AO2022 men's doubles quarterfinals.
#AusOpen https://t.co/VaRCEGTXgf
Speaking at his press conference afterwards, the Australian touched on the same issue he had brought up after his singles match against Daniil Medvedev on Thursday. After the tie, both Medvedev and Kyrgios expressed their displeasure at the continued chants from the crowd during points.
However, the 26-year-old was more understanding and accepted it as a part of the game. Kyrgios feels that tennis should move on from being a "gentleman's game." Rather, they should embrace a "different sort of energy" that accommodated crowds such as the rowdy one at the Rod Laver Arena on Thursday.
"I thought the atmosphere was awesome. That's what sport is," Kyrgios said. "You'd expect the crowd to be like that. I can understand it's a gentleman's game, but it's about time that people embraced some sort of different energy in this sport otherwise it will die out. It's just that simple."
Nick Kyrgios has addressed the antics of this year's #AusOpen crowd, following last night's controversial match against Russian superstar Daniil Medvedev.
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Kyrgios expanded on that comment on Sunday by insinuating that the Big 3's dominance meant that all the marketing in tennis has revolved around them for the past decade. Since they were gentlemen on the court, it has become the norm in tennis, making those with personalities such as his own, outcasts.
"I just think that tennis has done a really poor job of accepting personalities in the past. I think they have really only marketed three players over the last decade and now it has caught up with them," Kyrgios said.
The former World No. 13 brought up his match against Medvedev as an example to show how "fun" tennis can be when it is played between two players with unique personalities.
Kyrgios opined that at the end of the day, players will always have respect for their opponents. With that in mind, he felt that tennis executives need to promote matches that are more fun for spectators.
"You look at the match against me and Medvedev. The actual quality of tennis was to a pretty good level that I thought was fun," Kyrgios said. "At the end of the day I'm going to shake the man's hand and say, 'Too good. You were too good at the end of the day'. The match was fun to watch and I think tennis just needs to push that a lot. Otherwise it's in trouble."
Nick Kyrgios hails doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis as an exciting prospect for the future
Nick Kyrgios did not only have negative things to say about the way tennis has been run. The mercurial Australian commended tennis executives for propping up a few exciting Next Gen players.
His favorites include World No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime and World No. 14 Denis Shapovalov. Most praise, however, was reserved for his doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis. Kyrgios stated that Kokkinakis' game has the ability to glue fans to the screen even if he is losing, making him an exciting prospect for the future.
"They've tried to push some of the Next Gen guys and some of them are really exciting. I really like the two young Canadians, I think they can really do some special things in the sport," Kyrgios said. "There is something about Thanasi [Kokkinakis] too. When I watch him play singles it glues me to the TV, whether he's losing or winning. It's just the way he goes about it."
First ATP trophy for Kokkinakis!
🇦🇺 First ATP trophy for Kokkinakis!
After all his injuries, the Aussie phoenix defeated Rinderknech to win Adelaide 2. His first title on the main tour! https://t.co/JKm9jE2Bt7
Up next, Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis face off against sixth seeds Tim Pütz and Michael Venus for a spot in the semifinals. Neither Kyrgios nor Kokkinakis have gone past the third round in doubles before, making their run at the 2022 Australian Open that much more extraordinary.