Nick Kyrgios admits he was wrong about Daniil Medvedev after all

As odd as it seems, Nick Kyrgios and Daniil Medvedev are almost the same age. This might seem odd as Medvedev has seemingly been successful on the ATP for many years while Nick Kyrgios either has not met expectations, doesn't seem like he ever will, or has basically retired to commentate on tennis. And there is nothing wrong with that last bit as Kyrgios has turned into a really good commentator for Eurosport or the Tennis Channel during matches.

But Kyrgios should not kid himself that he turned out to be anywhere near the player Kyrgios has. Maybe Kyrgios doesn't. Possibly, the Australian could never have the same career trajectory as the Russian. Just because one player is great in juniors does not mean they will be the best once they have played several years on the ATP tour.

This would be a lot like a high school quarterback expected to have the same career arch even when he gets to be in the NFL. Life changes. That is not a bad thing.

Nick Kyrgios reveals he was wrong about Daniil Medvedev

During the Australian Open this weekend while Kyrgios was commentating on the Andrey Rublev and Alex de Minaur match, Kyrgios admitted the mistake he made in thinking Medvedev was likely to be a "horrific" player. He based this on what facing Medvedev was like when Kyrgios was in juniors a decade ago.

Kyrgios said, "For me, a guy I thought was going to be horrific was Medvedev. “I played against him in juniors...I was like the dominant junior and (Medvedev) was just terrible. He had the worst technique I’ve ever seen in my life...Then he becomes number one in the world and a Grand Slam champion. It’s very funny, he was a nutter as well, like this just is crazy."

Maybe Nick Kyrgios called Daniil Medvedev a "nutter" when the Russian was young, but at least Kyrgios held back from calling Medvedev a potato, Kyrgios' favorite phrase of choice of late. Also of note, Kyrgios and Medvedev have met five times on the ATP tour and Kyrgios has dominated the head-to-head 4-1. This includes the two players meeting three times as recently as 2022 when Kyrgios won two of the three matchups.

Medvedev will face Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Medvedev is currently ranked No. 3 on the ATP tour. He has won one major (2021 US Open) and reached the final in four other Grand Slams.

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