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Nick Kyrgios has crossed the line in a big way

By Geoff Nichols

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Nick Kyrgios has crossed the line in a big way

At Wimbledon 2015 Nick Kyrgios hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. A year previously he had been causing a stir for his tennis, whereas he was now being hounded for an apparent lack of effort. We defended him then, but his most recent behaviour directed toward Stan Wawrinka at the Montreal Masters was blatantly a step too far.

A point that must be reiterated with a player like Kyrgios is that you can defend a person for certain actions, but that d0es not mean you condone the future mistakes they might make. I and many others may have leapt to the Australian’s defence with his apparent tanking, but in this case he is firmly in the wrong.

– Nick Kyrgios: In defence of his apparent tanking –

It seems necessary to not get carried away with this issue. It might be easy to jump on the bandwagon, tearing apart Kyrgios’ personality and dragging out his mistakes from the past and going through them with a fine tooth comb. Instead I want to share as reasoned as possible a dissection of what he got so very wrong.

One particularly illogical response in these situations, which has arisen with Kyrgios in particular, is that he hasn’t even had the success on the tennis court to warrant this kind of brash behaviour. They say his results back up the personality he shows on court.

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There is no point in Kyrgios and the people around him living in the delusion that should he go on to become a Grand Slam champion or the world number one that this behaviour becomes at all acceptable. If anything the intensity of the microscope will be even greater if he starts winning big events.

Kyrgios’ defence when asked about the incident after the match was that he made the remarks “in the heat of the moment.” Admittedly it was a fraught atmosphere at that point in the third round match, but unfortunately for Kyrgios it being in the heat of the moment does not magically erase what was said.

The distinct lack of any apology toward Wawrinka, or Kokkinakis and Vekic who have been unwittingly dragged into this controversy, shows the ego that the Australian suffers from. No wonder when his mother is so quick to support her son’s actions on Twitter when most parents would be shamed by such actions.

It seemed almost a cowardly way to go about things. Wawrinka had started the to-do, calling out Kyrgios for his constant complaining, then Kyrgios responded with this under his breath. It wasn’t even a comment exclusive to Wawrinka, it dragged two other people into the mix.

Personally I detected a hint of remorse in the interview after the match, but why was he so determined to suppress that guilt and continue maintaining his image of nonchalance and bravado? He has let a number of people down and humility is the first thing they will have wanted to see.

Those condemning Kyrgios, of which there are many, are not claiming to be model citizens who are taking the moral high ground. Everyone makes mistakes, no doubt, but mistakes by definition can come with consequences. For Kyrgios that price might come out directly of his pocket if similar incidents in the past are to be followed.

– Nick Kyrgios Insults Stan and ‘His Girlfriend’ – 

However, the nature of this particular mistake will likely have more far reaching consequences. It is hard to imagine his friendship with Kokkinakis will continue with the same levels of trust, whilst other players on tour will also be aware that, in the heat of the moment, anything could come out of Kyrgios’ mouth.

It is a humbling experience for Kyrgios and those around him. It would be difficult to argue that this wasn’t brewing and his team and family were living with their head in the clouds if they disagree. He needs to mature and quickly, if he is to continue pursuing a profession that is so public. He ought to be a role model, but certainly is not at the moment.

Please do share your thoughts in the comments below and on Twitter.

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